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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


•  in   had  discovered  a  treasure  chest  indeed. 


Page  231. 


A  Yankee  Crusoe 


OR 


The    Golden    Treasure  of  the 
Virgin  Islands. 


By  ALLAN  ERIC  ,  Ja**~<*-. 

Author  of:    "  Buckra"-Land,   Following  The  Tow- 
Path,  Etc.,  Etc. 


BOSTON 
HENRY  A.  DICKERMAN  &  SON 

1900 


.  I. 


COPYRIGHT,   1900,  BY 
HENRY    A.    DICKERMAN    &    SON. 


All  rights  reserved. 


PRESS  OF 

Lounsbery  Nichols  and  Worth  Company 
boston. 


an 

2-- 


Go  fifty  WHifet 

Mbo,  curing  all  m£  wanderings,  in  tbe  tropics  ano 
on  tbe  eoge  of  tbe  ff  rigfo  ^one,  bas  been  m£  constant 
companion;  ano  at  borne,  mg  taitbful  literary  dfcentor, 
tbfs  votume  is  affectionately  oeofcateo. 

Gbe  Butbor 


«*  or 


C0NTEN1S. 

Chapter.  Page 

I.     Early  Life;  Off  for  a  Voyage 11 

II.     Heavy  Weather ;  the  Sargasso  Sea 22 

III.  A  Terrible  Storm ;  Leaving  the  Ship 28 

IV.  Cast  Up  by  the  Sea  on  a  Tropical  Island     ...     34 
V.  Strange  Surroundings  ;  Building  a  House  ...     51 

VI.     The  Stockade ;  a  Crusoe's  Life 58 

VII.  A  Cocoanut  Calendar  ;  Food  Supply      ....     63 

VIII.  Thoughts  of  the  Future  ;  Making  a  Bow-Gun  .     .     70 

IX.  Starts  to  Explore  the  Island ,   Turtles'  Eggs     .     .     84 

X.    In  the  Folds  of  a  Snake 90 

XI.  The  Mountain  Cave;  a  Beacon;  Attack  by  Pigs    99 

XII.  Return  to  the  Coast ;  a  Mangrove  Swamp ;  Fever  136 

XIII.  A  Feathered  Companion  ;  Making  a  Fish  Trap    .  142 

XIV.  Another  Exploring  Trip ;  Tropical  Fruits  .     .     .  155 
XV.    A  Hurricane  and  a  Ship-Wreck 165 

XVI.  Pleasant  Companions  ;  Enlarging  the  House    .     .  182 

XVII.  Building  a  Raft ;  VisiU  to  the  Wreck     .     .     .     .191 

XVIII.  The  March  Continued;  Arrival  on  the  Mountain  217 

XIX.  An  Ancient  Ruin  ;  Wonderful  Discovery     .     .     .  224 

XX.  "The  Golden  Treasure;"  Its  Removal   .     .     .     .234 

XXI.  Preparing  for  Departure;  Death  of  the  Monster  .  243 

XXII.     Boat-Building  ;  A  Startling  Sound 250 

XXIII.    Rescue  at  Hand  ;  Leaving  the  Island 257 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

11  We  had  discovered  a  treasure  chest  indeed.''''         Frontispiece. 

Facing  page 

u  An  unwelcome  visitor." 90 

"  Encounter  with  wild  pigs." 132 

u  I  waved  my  arms,  wildly." 168 

u  We  raised  our  guns  and  fired." 212 

11  With  eyes  glaring  down  at  us." 246 

"  jFV  de  Lord,  Marsa."   ...  ...        258 


A  YANKEE  CRUSOE 


CHAPTER  I. 

Early  Life  ;   Off  for  a  Voyage. 

I  was  born  in  a  little  town  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  near  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  My 
boyhood  life  did  not  differ  materially  from  that 
of  the  average  farmer's  son  in  the  remote 
country  districts  of  New  England — except,  per- 
haps, that  I  read  more  and  thought  more.  Hard 
work  on  the  rugged  soil,  two  terms  each  year 
in  the  little  yellow  country  schoolhouse,  a  day's 
fishing  now  and  then  filled  the  early  years  of 
my  life  full  to  over-flowing.  In  the  winter  it 
was  work  in  the  woods,  cutting  up  the  year's 
supply   of    fire-wood;    and    then,    before    the 

11 


12  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

spring  ploughing  time,  my  brother  and  myself 
found  pleasant  labor  and  recreation  combined  in 
the  maple  woods,  tapping  the  trees,  gathering 
the  sap  and  tending  the  fire  under  the  great 
kettles  where  the  sweet  product  of  the  maple 
was  transformed  into  syrup  and  sugar. 

I  really  think  that  I  was  more  thoughtful 
than  the  average  boy.  I  know  that  I  read 
more.  I  do  not  remember  ever  feeling  dis- 
satisfied with  my  life  or  with  the  prospects 
that  the  future  held  out  for  me.  Probably  I 
was  too  young  for  these  things  to  trouble  me 
much;  but  I  read  everything  in  the  way  of 
books  and  papers  that  I  could  borrow,  or  pur- 
chase by  saving  a  little  money  earned  in  various 
ways.  I  was  fond  of  stories  of  adventure;  but 
travel  and  adventure  combined,  interested  me 
most.  Therefore,  as  I  grew  older,  I  became 
imbued  with  a  passionate  desire  to  travel  in 
foreign  lands.     The  tropics  were  my  ideal,  and 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  13 

this  feeling  became  stronger  as  the  years  went  by. 

When  I  was  fifteen  years  of  age  my  father 
removed  to  a  large  village  where  there  was  a 
graded  school,  and  I  entered  the  grammar  school, 
then  the  high  school  from  which  I  was  graduated. 

The  passion  for  travel  still  had  a  strong  hold 
upon  me,  but  I  saw  no  immediate  prospect  of 
gratifying  it,  for  I  was  obliged  to  look  about  for 
some  immediate  means  of  earning  a  living  for 
myself.  When  everything  else  fails,  one  can 
always  find  an  opportunity  to  canvass  for  a 
publishing  house  or  a  novelty  concern;  so,  soon 
after  leaving  the  high  school,  I  was  trudging  up 
and  down  the  banks  of  the  Penobscot  river, 
calling  from  house  to  house.  It  was  discourag- 
ing work,  but  I  succeeded  moderately  well. 

Late  in  the  fall  I  went  up  to  Bangor  to  can- 
vass that  city,  and  it  was  there  that  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  gentleman,  which  led  to  the 
experiences  that  I  am  about  to  relate,  and  which 
changed  the  whole  course  of  my  life. 


14  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Mr.  William  H.  Sargent  was  a  wealthy,  retired 
merchant,  with  impaired  health.  His  wealth 
had  been  acquired  by  trading  with  the  South 
American  countries,  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
he  still  retained  large  interest  in  many  vessels 
sailing  to  that  part  of  the  world. 

It  was  his  idea  to  make  a  voyage  in  one  of 
these  vessels,  and  the  friendship  which  had 
developed  between  us,  mostly  through  meet- 
ing in  the  reading  room  of  the  Public  Library, 
caused  him  to  suggest  that  I  accompany  him  on 
his  voyage  to  the  Southern  seas. 

I  accepted  only  too  gladly,  and  that  very 
evening  I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  my  mother, 
explaining  my  good  fortune,  bidding  her  not  to 
worry  by  exaggerating,  in  her  own  mind,  the 
dangers  to  be  encountered. 

The  next  few  days  I  spent  mostly  with  my 
benefactor,  for  as  such  I  looked  upon  him,  help- 
ing him  in  various  ways  in  his  preparations  for 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  15 

the  voyage.  As  for  myself,  I  required  little 
more  than  a  modest  supply  of  clothing. 

Mr.  Sargent  was  thoughtful  and  considerate, 
however,  and  insisted  upon  my  procuring  much 
that  I  deemed  unnecessary  for  my  modest  re- 
quirements, paying  for  the  same  from  his  own 
pocket. 

Our  craft  was  a  trim  bark  called  the  Ethelyn 
Hope,  built  at  Searsport  three  years  before. 
She  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  gross 
measurement  and  sat  in  the  water  jauntily 
and  buoyantly.  From  her  load  water-line  to 
the  tips  of  her  topmast  she  was  as  trim  a  craft 
as  one  could  wish  to  see.  As  she  lay  at  the 
wharf  ready  for  sea,  everything  on  deck  had 
been  made  snug,  and  not  a  coil  of  rope  or  spare 
block  was  out  of  place.  Her  cargo  consisted  of 
case  oil,  salt  fish  and  flour  in  her  hold,  and  she 
carried  a  good  deck-load  of  lumber.  She  was 
bound  for  Cayenne,  French  Guiana,  on  the 
north  coast  of  South  America. 


16  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

The  Ethelyn  Hope  was  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Witham ;  and  the  first,  second  and 
third  mates,  with  nine  able  seamen  before  the 
mast  comprised  the  crew. 

Nothing  remained  to  be  done  except  to  cast 
off  the  lines,  when,  released  from  her  bonds  the 
bark  slowly  moved  down  the  river.  The  sails 
on  the  lower  yards  and  jib-boom  were  set,  and 
with  a  light  breeze  favoring  her,  aided  by  the 
swift  current,  the  city  was  soon  lost  behind  High 
Head. 

By  daylight  the  following  morning  we  had 
passed  through  the  "  Narrows  ",  and  just  at  sun- 
rise all  sails  were  set  and  the  bark  squared  away 
for  the  mouth  of  the  bay  where  she  was  laid 
on  a  sou',  sou' -east  course  as  she  took  her  final 
departure. 

My  spirits  were  decidedly  buoyant  as  the  bark 
glided  out  of  the  bay  into  the  open  sea,  and  a 
delicious  sense  of  elation  took  possession  of  me 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  17 

as  I  realized  that  I  was  really  on  board  a  ship, 
with  the  land  fading  away  behind  me,  bound  for 
a  foreign  shore,  the  wonderful  tropics,  the  land 
of  palms  of  which  I  had  read  so  much.  I  should 
see  for  myself  the  curious  things  of  the  sea, 
strange  countries  and  people ;  and  perhaps  en- 
counter fierce  animals  in  the  virgin  forests,  the 
home  of  birds  of  rare  and  beautiful  plumage. 

With  a  strong  northwest  breeze  the  bark  stood 
away  on  her  course,  with  every  sail  filled  out 
and  drawing  handsomely.  Although  the  weather 
had  been  clear  and  the  sea  fairly  calm,  by  sun- 
set a  thin  haze  rendered  the  outline  of  4he  hori- 
zon dimly  visible,  and  the  Captain  began  to  fear 
a  blow.  His  nautical  instinct  made  him  sure 
that  there  was  to  be  a  change  in  the  weather, 
and  he  gave  orders  for  everything  to  be  made 
secure.  And,  sure  enough,  at  dusk  the  wind 
freshened  and  hauled  around  into  the  north-east. 

It  wras  about  this  time  that  I  suddenly  became 


18  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

conscious  of  a  peculiar  feeling,  a  sudden  dizzi- 
ness, like  the  sensation  caused  by  a  boy's  first 
cigar.  I  knew  well  enough  that  I  was  experi- 
encing the  first  sensations  of  seasickness,  and, 
suddenly'  losing  interest  in  the  sailing  of  the 
ship,  I  went  below  and  tumbled  into  my  berth. 
Feeling  somewhat  better,  while  I  lay  quiet,  I 
had  nearly  dropped  off  to  sleep  when  I  was 
aroused  by  a  tremendous  noise,  which  brought 
me  to  my  senses,  when  I  realized  that  the  vessel 
was  rolling  and  pitching  wildly.  I  could  hear 
the  howling  of  the  wind  around  the  deck-houses, 
and  the  snapping  of  the  great  sails.  Now  and 
then  I  heard  the  sound  of  the  Captain's  voice  on 
deck  as  though  he  were  giving  brisk  orders ;  and 
I  rightly  concluded  that  we  were  having  it  very 
rough.  I  looked  across  the  cabin  and  saw  that 
Mr.  Sargent  was  in  his  berth,  but  as  he  was 
apparently  not  asleep  I  spoke  to  him,  asking  if 
there  was  any  danger. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  19 

"Oh,  I  guess  not,"  he  replied.  "We  are 
having  a  pretty  stiff  blow." 

Strangely  enough,  I  suppose,  I  did  not  now 
feel  sick,  though  my  head  was  a  little  dizzy,  so 
I  concluded  to  go  on  deck.  I  cautiously  ascended 
the  companion  way,  and  found  the  Captain  stand- 
ing near  the  wheel,  enveloped  in  oil-skins,  his 
head  being  covered  by  an  ample  sou'wester. 

"Hello,  boy,"  was  his  greeting,  "what  are  you 
doing  up  here  ?  The  best  place  for  you  is  below; 
you  might  get  blown  over-board." 

But  I  begged  to  be  allowed  to  remain  a  little, 
arguing  that  I  felt  better  on  deck,  and  the 
Captain  relented  and  found  a  sheltered  place 
under  the  lee  of  the  cook's  galley,  telling  me 
not  to  try  to  move  about  the  deck. 

The  bark  was  rolling  and  tossing,  but  appeared 
to  be  bounding  through  the  water  like  a  race- 
horse. Soon  I  heard  the  Captain  tell  the  mate 
that  the  wind  had  shifted  around  into  the  east, 


20  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

and  that  they  were  in  for  a  stiff  blow,  and  rain, 
too,  before  long. 

So  it  proved,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
squall  struck  in  earnest.  The  ship  careened, 
and  a  sea  came  over  her  weather  rail,  until  the 
lee-scuppers  spouted  green  water,  wetting  me 
a  little,  even  in  my  sheltered  retreat. 

The  rain  began  to  fall,  and  the  sailors  had 
their  hands  full.  There  was  a  great  commotion 
of  loudly  spoken  orders,  the  tramping  of  feet, 
the  creaking  of  blocks,  the  rush  and  roar  of  the 
sea  and  the  howling  of  the  blast  through  the 
rigging.  All  hands  were  called  to  take  in  sail, 
and  the  bark,  soon  close  hauled,  was  lying  over 
nearly  to  her  lee  rail.  The  heavy  sea  beat 
against  her  bows  with  all  the  force  which  tons 
of  water  could  exert,  while  the  staunch  little 
vessel,  quivering  for  a  moment  would  seem  to 
hesitate,  and  then  plunge  forward  to  meet  the 
next  onslaught  like  an  animate  thing  possessed 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  21 

of  sensible  emotions.  The  spray,  flying  back 
over  the  bows,  drenched  the  deck  from  fore  to 
aft.  The  topsail  halyards  had  been  hauled  taut, 
and  the  sails  filled  out  and  backed  against  the 
masts  with  a  noise  like  thunder. 

I  did  not  long  remain  in  the  scanty  shelter 
afforded  by  the  house,  but  made  the  best  of  my 
way  to  the  cabin.  To  make  matters  worse,  I 
was  again  off  my  "sea-legs,"  and  was  getting 
terribly  sick. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Heavy  Weather ;  the  Sargasso  Sea. 

The  gale  continued  until  the  end  of  the  fourth 
day,  and  we  were  south  of  the  deep  blue  waters 
of  the  Gulf  Stream,  when  it  abated  somewhat, 
and  though  it  continued  to  blow  heavily,  the 
sea  was  running  more  regularly,  in  long,  even 
swells  which  made  the  motion  of  the  bark  less 
disagreeable,  especially  for  me. 

The  studding  sails  were  taken  in,  and  the 
wind  was  hauled,  in  order  that  the  Captain 
might  be  given  an  opportunity  to  determine 
our  longitude. 

The  Captain  found  that  we  were  not  far  off 
22 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  23 

the  course,  as  the  wind  had  blown  mostly  from 
north,  and  northeast  and  east.  The  sails  were 
trimmed,  and,  by  sundown  the  wind  veered 
around  into  the  northwest  and  blew  steadily, 
while  the  sea  gradually  subsided.  We  were  now 
about  two  hundred  miles  to  the  eastward  of 
Watling's  Island,  one  of  the  Bahamas,  also 
known  as  San  Salvador,  the  first  land  in  the 
New  World  discovered  by  Columbus.  The  stars 
shone  bright,  and  the  bark,  rolling  easily,  plowed 
the  warm  waters  of  the  sub-tropic  sea.  I  re- 
mained with  Mr.  Sargent  long  on  deck  that 
night,  watching  the  phosphorence  of  the  water, 
which  in  these  latitudes,  is  sometimes  very 
brilliant. 

The  morning  dawned  upon  a  tropic  sea,  for 
the  bark  had  made  good  progress  during  the 
night,  and  we  were  well  abreast  of  the  larger 
islands  of  the  Bahamas.  The  breeze  was  soft 
and  balmy,  and  the  ocean  a  deep,  crystal  blue, 


24  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

of  a  hue  never  seen  except  in  these  southern 
latitudes.  This  is  owing  partly  to  the  remark- 
able reflection  of  the  sky  but  more  to  the  extreme 
depth  of  the  water.  Myriads  of  flying  fish  rose 
in  flocks  from  the  water  and  fluttered  away  on 
both  sides  of  the  ship  as  the  bark  glided 
through  the  weeds  of  the  Sargasso  Sea.  The 
Sargasso  weed  is  a  genus  by  itself,  which,  thrust 
away  to  the  south  by  the  mighty  ocean  cur- 
rents, lies  in  a  vast  central  pool,  a  great  eddy 
between  the  Gulf  Stream  and  the  Equatorial 
current;  and  here  it  revolves.  It  is  ocean  born, 
and  long  ages  have  passed  since  it  lost  its  habit 
of  growing  on  the  rocky  sea-bottom.  Forever 
floating  it  feeds  among  its  branches  whole  fami- 
lies of  crabs,  cuttle-fish  and  mollusks,  which  like 
the  plant  itself,  are  found  in  no  other  seas. 

The  flying-fish  interested  me  greatly,  for  I 
had  read  much  about  them.  I  noticed  that  their 
flight  was  as  perfect  as  that  of  some  kinds  of 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  25 

birds,  and  that  it  very  closely  resembled  that  of 
the  swallow,  in  that  it  was  a  skimming,  circling 
flight.  I  had  read  that  the  flying-fish  rarely 
leaves  the  water  unless  pursued  by  a  shark  or 
some  other  fish  to  which  it  is  a  prey ;  and  that, 
on  leaving  the  Water  it  does  not  really  fly,  but, 
instead,  emerges  from  the  water  on  an  upward 
plane,  enabling  it  to  skim  along  for  some  dis- 
tance. I  had  read,  also,  that  the  fish  is  unable 
to  remain  in  the  air  only  while  its  wings  are 
wet.  This  latter  statement  is  undoubtedly  cor- 
rect; but  I  observed  that  its  flight  was  perfect, 
the  fish  making  use  of  its  greatly  elongated  and 
highly  developed  pectoral  fins,  as  wings.  I  saw 
them  flying  singly  and  in  flocks  or  schools,  when 
they  were  not  pursued  by  sharks  and  I  was 
thoroughly  convinced  that  they  did  actually  fly. 
They  gyrated  in  the  air  exactly  like  swallows, 
and  moved  their  wings  very  rapidly  like  birds. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  the  length  of 


26  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

their  flight,  for  they  would  rise  from  beneath 
the  bows  and  fly  away  in  a  continuous  line  until 
lost  to  sight  in  the  distance. 

Once  one  dropped  upon  the  deck  in  the  night 
and  the  cook  broiled  it,  assuring  us  that  its  flesh 
was  very  delicate,  much  like  that  of  a  fresh 
water  perch ;  and  indeed,  so  it  proved  to  be. 

The  Captain  had  taken  a  course  much  fur- 
ther to  the  eastward  than  he  would  ordinarily. 
Usually,  in  going  to  the  Guianas,  the  route  is 
through  the  Bahama  group,  by  way  of  the 
Crooked  Island  Channel,  thence  through  the 
Windward  Passage,  between  Cuba  and  Haiti 
and  across  the  Caribbean  sea  by  the  east  end  of 
Jamaica.  But  Mr.  Sargent  wished  to  go  further 
to  the  eastward  so  as  to  pass  among  the  Lee- 
ward Islands,  perhaps  landing  there  to  await 
the  return  of  the  bark  from  the  coast.  This 
plan  could  be  followed  without  detriment,  as  a 
little  delay  in  reaching  Guiana  was  more  than 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  27 

likely  to  result  in  an  improved  market  for  the 
cargo.  This  explains  the  unusual  course  of  the 
Ethelyn  Hope. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  Terrible  Storm  ;  Leaving  the  Ship. 

The  weather  continued  fine  for  three  days, 
after  passing  the  latitude  of  San  Salvador,  with 
a  fresh  breeze  blowing  from  the  northwest, 
which  sped  the  bark  on  her  course  so  that  she 
logged  better  than  ten  knots ;  but  on  the  fourth 
day  the  wind  swung  around  to  the  north  and 
gradually  hauled  into  the  northeast,  and  the 
long,  steady  swells  began  to  rise. 

The  Captain  at  once  prepared  for  a  gale  and 
ordered  the  sails  trimmed  to  meet  it.  That  the 
apprehensions  of  the  Captain  were  grave  was 
proven  by  the  precautions  taken ;  for  not  only 

28 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  29 

was  sail  shortened  to  the  last   extremity,  but 
the  hatches  were  securely  battened  down. 

The  barometer  began  to  fall  about  noon,  and 
from  that  time  the  wind  increased  until  it  was 
blowing  a  gale;  but  just  after  sunset  the  wind 
almost  died  away,  though  the  mountainous 
foam-flecked  seas  continued. 

As  the  sun  went  down  the  sky  rapidly  be- 
came overcast,  and  a  cloud  of  inky  blackness 
appeared  along  the  horizon.  As  we  stood 
watching  it  a  long  line  of  whiteness  appeared 
between  the  sea  and  the  black  cloud,  and 
stretched  away  far  toward  the  east.  Gradually 
the  white  line  came  nearer,  until  it  proved  to 
be  a  wall  of  foam.  It  was  advancing  toward 
the  ship  with  great  rapidity;  and  as  it  came 
nearer  the  air  above  it  was  seen  to  be  filled 
with  flying  spray. 

The  wind  began  to  freshen,  and  the  sailors 
were  hurrying  about  in  obedience  to  the  orders 


SO  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

of  the  Captain,  still  shortening  sail.  All  the 
npper  sails  were  reefed. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  wall  of  foam,  and 
with  a  roar  it  struck  the  ship,  and  the  storm 
broke  in  a  perfect  tornado. 

The  bark  was  careened  until  the  lee  scuppers 
were  submerged;  and  the  staunch  craft  shook 
from  end  to  end.  For  an  instant  she  seemed 
buried  beneath  the  raging  sea,  and  then  rose 
and  plunged  into  the  next  wave. 

Mr.  Sargent  and  I  made  haste  to  go  below, 
where  we  remained  holding  ourselves  in  our 
berths  while  the  ship  reeled,  plunged  and 
groaned  in  every  timber  and  plank. 

A  fearful  report  like  the  crack  of  a  rifle  told 
us  that  some  sail  had  been  carried  away;  and 
then  followed  others.  At  length,  from  a  change 
in  the  ship's  motion,  we  judged  that  the  Cap- 
tain was  trying  to  put  her  about  and  run  before 
the  gale;  but  suddenly  a  fearful   crash  which 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  31 

seemed  as  though  the  bark  had  split  from  stem 
to  stern  was  followed  by  a  terrible  rolling  and 
plunging. 

Crack!  Crack!  and  the  bark  pitched  and 
groaned  worse  than  ever. 

We  heard  the  Captain  making  his  way  toward 
the  cabin,  and  then  saw  him  enter.  His  face 
wore  a  look  of  deep  anxiety. 

"The  masts  have  gone,"  he  said,  "and  the 
bark  is  unmanageable.  You  must  prepare  for 
the  worst.     We  may  have  to  take  to  the  boats.' ' 

"At  once,  Captain?"  asked  Mr.  Sargent. 

"  I  cannot  tell  until  the  well  is  sounded ;  but 
I  fear  that  she  must  founder." 

At  that  moment  the  first  mate  entered  the 
cabin  and  stated  that  the  bark  was  leaking 
badly.     The  water  was  rising  fast  in  the  hold. 

"We  must  remain  on  the  ship  to  the  last 
moment,"  said  the  Captain,  "for  a  boat  could 
not  live  in  this  sea." 


32  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

The  Captain  returned  to  the  deck,  and  how 
long  we  clung  to  the  berths  I  cannot  tell,  for  I 
was  dazed  by  the  peril  which  threatened  us  — 
Were  we  to  be  lost  at  sea,  drowned,  all  hands  ? 

The  Captain  again  entered  the  cabin.  "  We 
must  take  to  the  boats,"  he  said,  "and  Heaven 
help  us." 

We  hastened  on  deck  just  as  we  were,  half 
clothed,  leaving  everything  behind.  Nothing 
could  be  taken. 

When  we  reached  the  deck  we  saw  the  Cap- 
tain standing  by  the  starboard  boat.  The  other 
had  been  launched,  and  had  instantly  disap- 
peared in  the  darkness  and  foaming  water. 

The  Captain,  first  and  second  mate,  Mr.  Sar- 
gent and  myself  now  alone  remained  on  the 
bark. 

We  hurried  into  the  boat.  "  We  should  not 
be  far  from  one  of  the  outlying  islands  of  the 
Windward  group,"  said  the  captain;  "and  if  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  33 

boat  can  live  in  this  sea  until  daylight  we  may 
reach  one  of  the  Virgin  Islands." 

The  tackle  was  let  go,  and  a  great  sea  caught 
the  boat.  She  was  lifted  up,  and  up,  and  up, 
and   then   sank,   it  seemed,  into  a  fathomless 


I  saw  the  first  and  second  mate  bend  to  the 
oars.  The  Captain  was  in  the  stern.  The  boat 
careened  and  seemed  to  start  suddenly  upward 
on  an  inclined  plane. 

A  rush  of  water  enveloped  her.  I  heard  a 
roaring  sound  in  my  ears,  and  I  knew  no  more. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Cast  up  by  the  Sea  on  a  Tropical  Island, 

When  I  regained  consciousness  I  was  lying 
upon  a  sandy  beach.  I  was  uninjured,  but 
rather  stiff,  while  my  body  seemed  to  be  bruised 
in  places.  I  was,  of  course,  wet  to  the  skin, 
and  I  crawled  up  and  lay  upon  the  sand  where 
my  clothing  was  quickly  dried  by  the  hot  sun, 
now  well  up. 

Meanwhile  I  looked  about  me.  I  had  been 
driven  ashore  between  two  points  of  land,  upon 
a  narrow  beach.  The  vegetation,  very  thick 
and  luxuriant,  grew  close  to  the  line  of  sand, 
and  all  around  me,  beautiful  trees  were  waving 

34 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  85 

in  the  balmy  breeze,  their  shining  leaves  glis- 
tening in  the  sunlight. 

I  stood  up  and  looked  behind  me,  but  I  saw 
nothing  save  lofty  mountains  heavily  wooded. 

I  had  no  doubt  but  that  I  was  on  an  island, 
indeed  I  could  be  nowhere  else,  and  I  judged 
that  it  must  be  one  of  the  most  northern  of  the 
Leeward  group. 

Looking  toward  the  sea,  I  saw  only  the  broad 
expanse  of  deep  blue  water  stretching  away  to 
the  horizon.     There  was  no  other  land  in  sight. 

The  sea  had  become  calmer,  but  the  influence 
of  the  storm  was  still  evidenced  by  the  heavy 
surf  which  broke  upon  the  narrow  beach.  There 
was  no  wreckage  of  any  kind,  no  sign  of  any- 
thing or  anybody  belonging  to  the  bark. 

At  first  the  utter  lonesomeness  and  hopeless- 
ness of  my  situation  depressed  me ;  but  it  would 
not  do  to  give  way  to  gloomy  thoughts.  I  was 
entirely  alone,  and,  so  far  as  I  knew,  upon  an 


3fi  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

uninhabited  island.  My  future  was  a  sealed 
book.  After  a  while  I  began  to  take  a  more 
hopeful  view  of  the  situation,  and  the  novelty 
of  my  surroundings,  and  the  strange  things 
about  me,  aroused  my  curiosity.  So  I  deter- 
mined to  explore  along  the  shore. 

The  vegetation  was  very  dense,  and  appeared 
to  be  interwoven  with  vines  of  monstrous  size. 
One  kind  of  tree,  very  tall  and  with  a  heavy 
long  narrow  leaf  seemed  to  be  the  most  abun- 
dant; and  from  the  descriptions  which  I  had 
read,  and  by  the  clusters  of  oblong  fruit  at  the 
bases  of  the  leaf-heads,  I  knew  them  to  be 
cocoanut  palms. 

"If  I  am  really  alone  upon  an  uninhabited 
island,"  I  thought,  "at  least  I  shall  not  starve 
so  long  as  I  am  able  to  obtain  plenty  of  cocoa- 
nuts." 

Slowly  I  walked  along  the  shore,  my  face 
being  toward  the  east  as  I  knew  from  the  direc- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  37 

tion  of  the  sun.  First  I  decided  to  go  to  the 
top  of  the  loftiest  headland  to  see  if  I  could 
obtain  any  trace  of  the  bark,  although  I  felt 
sure  that  she  had  gone  down,  and  that  all  but 
myself  had  perished;  still,  the  loneliness  of  my 
situation  caused  me  to  cling  to  what  I  felt  was 
but  a  vain  hope,  that  some  one  beside  myself 
had  survived. 

With  thoughts  confused,  and  laboring  under 
varying  emotions,  I  walked  slowly  along,  keep- 
ing on  the  sand  except  when  I  was  obliged  to 
turn  aside  to  avoid  a  kind  of  dagger-like  plant 
whose  leaves  were  armed  with  cruel  points. 

Reaching  the  headland  I  was  obliged  to  go 
through  a  thicket  where  my  scanty  clothing,  as 
well  as  my  hands,  was  torn  by  great  thorns. 
However,  I  reached  the  point  of  land,  and 
climbing  to  the  top  of  a  high  mound  I  looked 
around.  Before  me,  and  to  my  right  and  left, 
there  was  nothing  but  the  blue,  heaving  ocean; 


38  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

and  behind  me,  I  saw  nothing  but  a  dense  forest, 
with  lofty  mountains  in  the  distance.  There 
was  no  sign  of  life  save  brilliant  plumaged  birds 
flitting  about,  and  bright  colored  butterflies 
glancing  in  the  sunshine. 

Surely  I  was  alone ;  but  whether  on  an  unin- 
habited island  or  not,  the  future  .  alone  would 
reveal.  For  the  present  it  did  not  matter,  and 
I  must  certainly  depend  upon  my  own  resources. 

I  returned  to  the  spot  where  I  had  been  cast 
ashore,  meanwhile  revolving  in  my  mind  my 
present  condition.  What  gave  me  great  anxiety 
just  then  was  my  lack  of  clothing.  I  had  on 
only  my  trousers,  and  shirt,  shoes  and  stock- 
ings; and  these  were  all  I  possessed  in  the 
world,  but  I  was  overjoyed  to  find  that  my 
knife  was  still  in  one  of  the  pockets  of  my 
trousers.  It  was  a  good  one,  large  and  having 
two  blades.  The  large  blade  was  long  and 
strong,  and  the  possession  of  it  might  mean 
much  to  me  in  the  future. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  3& 

Reaching  the  place  where  I  regained  consci- 
ousness after  being  thrown  ashore  by  the  waves, 
I  began  to  think  of  finding  a  good  place  to  build 
a  temporary  shelter.  This  seemed  to  be  as 
good  a  location  as  any,  I  thought,  as  I  looked 
around.  It  was  in  a  sheltered  cove,  a  clear, 
grassy  plat  surrounded  by  trees. 

"Why  not  make  my  camp  right  here,"  I  asked 
myself;  and  as  I  reflected  it  seemed  to  be  the 
only  place  where  I  should  locate  for  the  present, 
for  here  I  should  be  in  a  position  to  watch  closely 
in  the  hope  that  some  vestige  of  the  bark  would 
yet  be  washed  ashore;  for  I  thought  that,  if  the 
vessel  had  foundered,  something  belonging  to 
her  would  very  likely  come  ashore,  and  I  felt 
sure  that  some  parts  of  the  boats,  and  perhaps 
the  bodies  of  some  of  my  unfortunate  com- 
panions would  be  almost  sure  to  drift  in. 

It  was,  I  judged,  now  near  mid-day,  and  the 
heat  of  the  sun  upon  my  head  gave  me  some 


40  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

concern.  I  must  devise  some  covering  for  my 
head.  Looking  about  with  this  object  in  view,' 
I  saw  hanging  from  a  small  palm  tree  what 
looked  like  coarse  canvas.  On  examining  it 
more  closely,  I  found  that  it  was  really  a  sort  of 
natural  cloth,  about  the  color  of  hemp,  and 
composed  of  fibres  that  appeared  to  be  very 
strong,  crossing  one  another  like  warp  and  fill- 
ing, but  not  interwoven.  Instead,  the  fibres 
were  closely  stuck  together  so  that  a  strong, 
pliant  fabric  was  formed. 

With  my  knife  I  cut  off  a  large  piece  which 
I  twisted  about  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a 
conical  cap.  The  edges  I  fastened  together 
with  long,  sharp  thorns  that  I  cut  from  some 
bushes  near  by.  This,  though  rude,  would  pro- 
tect my  head  for  the  time  being. 

Before  proceeding  to  begin  the  construction 
of  my  place  of  abode,  I  felt  inclined  to  look 
about  for  some  means  of  satisfying  the  hunger 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  41 

which  I  now  felt  keenly,  for  I  had  eaten  nothing 
since  supper  the  night  before  on  board  the  ill- 
fated  bark. 

The  cocoanut  trees  suggested  the  most  avail- 
able source  of  supply  for  the  first  meal  in  the 
strange  surroundings  in  which  I  found  myself ; 
so  going  to  a  cluster  of  the  trees  near  by,  mean- 
while wondering  how  I  would  manage  to  obtain 
the  nuts  fifty  feet  or  more  above  my  head,  I 
was  greatly  relieved  to  find  plenty  of  them 
lying  upon  the  ground.  But  the  nuts  that  I 
saw  were  not  like  those  common  in  the  markets 
at  home.  Instead,  they  were  oblong  and  many 
times  larger.  I  soon  discovered  that  to  get  at 
the  meat  I  must  first  cut  away  the  outer  husk 
or  covering  with  which  it  was  enveloped ;  so  I 
opened  my  knife  and  set  to  work.  It  was  no 
easy  task,  for  the  husk  was  thick  and  tough ; 
but  after  much  labor  I  succeeded  in  removing  it 
until  I  bared  the  round,  hard  shell  of  the  nut, 


42  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

• 
when,  with  a  large  stone  I  was  not  long  in 

cracking  it,  and  laying  bare  the  white  meat. 
With  the  nut  in  my  hands  I  walked  about 
among  the  trees  as  I  ate.  So  interested  was  I 
in  the  beautiful,  brilliant-colored  flowers,  some 
of  which  were  of  enormous  size,  and  in  num- 
bers of  little  green  lizards  that  hopped  about 
over  the  leaves  of  the  smaller  shrubs,  that  I  did 
not  at  once  notice,  as  I  came  into  a  grassy,  cir- 
cular plat,  that  the  ground  beneath  a  compact, 
shapely  tree  was  plentifully  besprinkled  with 
golden  globes,  and  I  was  in  a  high  state  of  ela- 
tion when  I  discovered  that  they  were  oranges. 
The  tree  itself  was  loaded  with  green  and  yel- 
low fruit.  I  peeled  one  of  the  largest,  and 
found  that  it  was  delicious  and  juicy,  but  of  a 
rather  different  flavor  from  those  to  which  I 
had  been  accustomed.  But  here  was  at  least 
both  refreshment  and  sustenance,  so  I  was  in 
no  danger  of  starving,  and  I  made  a  hearty 
meal. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  43 

Crossing  the  grassy  plat  where  the  orange 
tree  grew,  I  descended  a  gentle  slope  among 
the  palm  trees  and  soon  came  to  a  beautiful 
little  stream  of  clear  water.  Having  still  one 
of  the  halves  of  the  cocoanut  shell  in  my  hand, 
I  used  it  as  a  cup  and  took  a  long  draught  of 
the  water,  which,  though  rather  warm,  appeared 
to  be  pure  and  wholesome. 

The  stream  at  this  point  was  quite  broad  and 
very  shallow,  and  though  but  a  few  rods  from 
the  mouth  it  flowed  quite  swiftly.  Along  the 
banks  I  noticed  that  a  certain  tall,  reed-like 
plant  grew  in  great  profusion,  and,  on  closer 
examination  I  discovered  it  to  be  a  kind  of  wild 
cane,  with  large,  feathery,  chocolate-colored 
plumes. 

I  followed  the  bank  of  the  stream  to  the 
shore,  and  then  returned  to  my  landing  place, 
walking  along  the  narrow  beach. 

Hunger   satisfied   for   the    time-being,   I  set 


44  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

about  making  preparations  for  constructing  my 
dwelling.  Although  in  no  need  of  protection 
from  cold  in  this  tropical  climate,  I  remembered 
having  read  that  it  was  not  advisable  to  be 
without  shelter  at  night,  so  I  decided  that  my 
first  task  should  be  to  construct  a  house,  or  a 
hut. 

I  first  chose  a  clear  place  a  little  in  among 
the  palms,  perhaps  a  dozen  rods  from  the  beach, 
and,  as  accurately  as  I  could  by  pacing,  I  meas- 
ured off  an  area  ten  feet  square.  Each  corner 
I  marked  by  driving  down  a  short  stick,  and 
then  went  in  search  of  four  corner  posts.  After 
a  little  searching  I  found  some  straight  trees 
about  three  inches  in  diameter,  having  smooth 
bark  and  with  but  few  limbs,  each  tree  forked 
about  seven  feet  from  the  ground.  After  an 
hour's  hard  work,  I  succeeded  in  cutting  down 
four  of  them  with  my  knife ;  and  after  trimming 
off  the  branches  and  cutting  off  the  tops,  leav- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  45 

ing  ample  forks,  I  dragged  them  to  the  site  of 
my  dwelling.  I  next  felled  another  pole  which 
was  cut  in  halves,  leaving  the  butt  end  about 
four  feet  long.  This  I  sharpened  at  the  thickest 
end,  and  with  it  made  holes  about  eighteen 
inches  deep  at  each  corner  of  the  square  to  be 
occupied  by  my  house. 

Into  each  of  these  holes  I  set  one  of  the  forked 
corner  posts,  wedging  it  firmly  with  stones  from 
the  beach,  driven  solidly  down  all  around  it, 
filling  in  each  with  earth  which  I  trod  down 
firmly.  Four  long  poles  were  now  needed  to 
rest  one  end  in  each  of  the  upright  forks,  so  as 
to  form  a  frame,  and  I  started  away  again,  this 
time  toward  the  brook,  which  I  followed  up 
stream.  I  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when 
I  came  to  a  place  where  the  stream  widened 
into  a  broad  pool.  The  water  here  was  dark 
and  apparently  deep,  and  all  around  it,  grace- 
fully bending   over   the   still   depths,  I   found 


46  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

growing  tall  plants  having  small,  narrow  green 
leaves.  The  plants  grew  in  clusters,  and  some 
of  them  were  very  tall,  I  judged  from  twenty- 
five  to  forty  feet.  I  hurried  forward  with  a 
view  to  ascertaining  whether  they  would  suit 
my  purpose,  when  I  immediately  made  a  dis- 
covery which  at  once  solved  the  question  of 
obtaining  an  ample  supply  of  material  for  build- 
ing operations,  both  now  and  in  the  future;  for 
the  tall,  graceful  plants  proved  to  be  bamboos. 
I  knew  them  from  the  descriptions  I  had  read, 
and  from  the  regular  joints,  just  like  those  I  had 
seen  on  the  bamboo  fishing  rods  at  home. 

I  selected  several  of  the  bamboos,  each  being 
about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  although  I 
found  them  to  be  very  hard,  I  managed  to  cut 
them  down,  and  to  trim  off  the  branches  and 
the  tops.  By  making  three  trips  I  dragged  the 
bamboos  to  my  building  site.  Laying  them 
along  one  side  of  the  area  to  be  occupied  by  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  47 

house,  I  found  that  they  were  nearly  twenty 
feet  long.  Four  of  them  I  cut  off  to  the  re- 
quired length.  I  then  raised  one  on  either  side, 
one  end  of  each  pole  resting  in  one  of  the  forks 
of  the  uprights.  A  pole  was  then  laid  across 
each  of  the  other  sides,  resting  upon  the  poles 
supported  by  the  forks,  so  that  a  sort  of  scaffold 
was  formed,  which  needed  only  to  be  covered 
over  to  be  complete. 

I  had  worked  so  busily  and  had  become  so 
much  interested  that  I  scarcely  noticed  that  the 
sun  was  already  sinking  behind  the  palm  trees, 
and  casting  long  shadows  across  the  beach;  so, 
as  I  was  aware  that  darkness  very  quickly  fol- 
lows sunset  in  the  tropics,  I  must  make  haste 
and  provide  a  temporary  shelter  for  the  night 
before  suspending  work.  I  therefore  cut  the 
rest  of  the  poles  in  halves  and  laid  them  across 
the  two  longer  poles  resting  in  the  forks,  thus 
forming  a   gridiron-like   structure.      With   my 


48  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE, 

knife  I  cut  a  large  quantity  of  leafy  branches 
from  the  shrubs  that  grew  near  at  hand,  and 
then  went  to  the  brook  for  an  armful  of  wild 
canes.  With  this  material  I  covered  a  portion 
of  the  scaffold,  making  quite  a  good  shelter 
between  myself  and  the  sky. 

As  the  sun  sank  lower  and  the  shadows 
deepened,  I  felt  a  sense  of  loneliness  steal  over 
me,  for  the  idea  of  spending  the  night  alone,  I 
knew  not  where,  perhaps  on  an  island,  with  the 
boundless  ocean  on  one  side,  and  a  deep,  un- 
known forest  on  the  other  which  might  conceal 
fierce  wild  animals,  was  not  at  all  pleasing.  But 
I  must  train  myself  to  know  no  fear,  and  the 
sooner  I  began  to  school  myself  to  this  end,  the 
better. 

Although  I  felt  sure  I  should  not  sleep  with 
nothing  to  protect  me  and  with  no  means  of 
making  a  fire,  I  instinctively  began  to  think  of 
providing  some  sort  of  couch;  and  again  I  took 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  49 

my  knife,  and  cut  a  quantity  of  bushes  which  I 
piled  in  the  form  of  a  bed  beneath  the  scaffold. 
I  next  cut  several  armfuls  of  the  tall  grass  which 
grew  all  around  and  with  it  covered  the  couch 
of  bushes.  I  now  had  an  acceptable  bed,  so 
constructed  that  one  end  which  was  to  serve  as 
the  head,  was  about  a  foot  higher  than  the  other. 

By  the  time  I  had  finished  it  was  quite  dark; 
but  I  still  stood  leaning  against  one  of  the  cor- 
ner uprights  with  my  face  turned  toward  the 
forest,  hesitating  what  to  do  next,  and  instinc- 
tively listening  for  some  new  sound.  There 
was  no  breeze  stirring,  and  the  sea  lightly 
washed  the  sand  with  a  low  murmur  which 
tended  to  increase  my  feeling  of  loneliness. 
Since  sunset  the  air  had  become  beautifully 
cool.     For  a  long  time  I  stood  motionless. 

The  sounds  of  the  night  were  about  me;  and 
once  I  started  violently  when  I  thought  I  heard 
a  twig  crack.     Then  I  heard,  apparently  only  a 


50  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

little  distance  away,  a  noise  like  a  stone,  thrown 
by  some  one,  striking  the  ground;  but,  after  the 
startled  feeling  had  partly  left  me  I  reasoned 
that  the  noise  was  made  by  a  ripened  cocoanut 
falling  from  the  tree.  The  indistinct  notes  of 
many  insects,  new  and  strange,  filled  the  air, 
and  one  particularly  noisy  insect  gave  forth  a 
sharp  clipping  sound  like  that  made  by  shears 
in  the  hands  of  a  barber.  Sometimes  a  note 
like  that  of  a  bird  varied  the  myriads  of  sounds. 
Feeling  reassured,  after  a  time,  I  cautiously  lay 
down  upon  my  couch,  but  still  listening.  How 
long  I  remained  conscious  I  cannot  say;  but  I 
must  have  been  very  weary  from  the  excite- 
ment of  the  ship-wreck,  the  hardship  of  being 
cast  ashore  and  the  busy  day's  work. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Strange  Surroundings ;  Building  a  House, 

My  next  sensation  was  that  of  the  sun  shin- 
ing in  my  face  when  I  awoke  in  the  morning. 
At  first,  as  I  looked  out  from  beneath  my  shel- 
ter I  could  scarcely  comprehend  where  I  was  or 
how  I  came  there;  but  the  events  of  the  day 
before  soon  returned  to  me.  For  a  few  min- 
utes I  lay  still,  looking  around  upon  my  beauti- 
ful surroundings.  What  a  perfect  paradise  it 
was,  and  how  overjoyed  I  should  be  were  I  here 
under  different  circumstances. 

There  was  a  gentle  breeze  stirring,  just  enough 
to  move  the  feathery  leaves  of  the  palms  and 

51 


52  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

to  slightly  bend  the  tall  grass;  and  though  I 
could  not  see  any  of  them,  I  heard  birds  giving 
forth  discordant  notes  in  the  forest  around. 

But  I  must  stir  myself,  for  there  was  much 
to  do.  My  house  must  be  finished,  I  must  de- 
vise some  articles  for  personal  use,  and  the 
problem  of  my  future  sustenance  must  be 
solved,  for  I  could  not  long  continue  to  work 
and  subsist  entirely  upon  cocoanuts  and  oranges, 
although  they  would  answer  well  enough  for 
the  present. 

So  I  sprang  up  and  going  directly  to  the 
stream  I  bathed  my  face  and  hands.  Having 
no  towel  and  seeing  no  substitute  for  one,  I  sat 
down  and  dried  myself  in  the  sun. 

Cracking  another  cocoanut  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  I  did  the  day  before  and  gathering  some 
oranges,  I  sat  down  with  my  back  against  the 
palm  tree  and  proceeded  with  my  frugal  break- 
fast.    As   I   had   neglected   to   provide  myself 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  53 

with  a  meal  ere  I  retired  the  night  before,  I 
was  very  hungry  and  my  appetite  was  not  satis- 
fied until  I  had  eaten  nearly  a  dozen  oranges, 
beside  the  cocoanut.  Using  a  half  shell  of  the 
cocoanut  as  a  cup,  I  took  a  long  drink  of  water 
from  the  stream  and  turned  again  toward  my 
embryo  dwelling. 

I  thought  it  best  to  construct  the  walls  first 
in  order  to  provide  against  the  possible  attacks 
of  wild  animals,  and  knowing  this  to  be  the 
first  part  of  the  dry  season  which,  in  the  lati- 
tude in  which  I  judged  myself  to  be,  lasts  from 
the  middle  of  November  until  May,  there  was 
no  immediate  necessity  for  providing  shelter 
from  rain. 

The  necessity  of  devising  some  plan  for  keep- 
ing an  accurate  account  of  each  day  as  it  passed, 
now  occurred  to  me,  and  as  I  walked  back  to  the 
pool  for  another  supply  of  bamboos,  I  revolved 
the  question  in  my  mind,     The  record  which  I 


54  A   YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

proposed  to  keep  must  be  indestructible,  and  in 
some  compact,  portable  form  so  that  I  could 
easily  take  it  with  me  in  the  event  of  sudden 
departure  from  my  habitation.  One  of  the 
halves  of  the  cocoanut  shells  which  caught  my 
eye  as  I  passed  the  spot  where  I  had  partaken 
of  breakfast,  gave  me  an  idea  which  I  at  once 
adopted. 

Then  and  there  I  put  the  plan  into  execution. 
It  was  this :  I  resolved  to  use  only  the  halves  of 
the  cocoanut  shells  that  contained  the  natural 
holes  through  which  the  shoots  of  the  germi- 
nating nut  emerge  from  the  shell.  The  meat 
was  removed  from  the  half  shell,  leaving  the 
two  holes  through  it. 

At  the  close  of  each  day,  as  near  sunset  as 
possible,  I  would  cut  a  deep  notch  in  the  edge 
of  the  shell,  and  each  shell  should  have  as  many 
notches  as  there  were  days  in  the  month.  On 
the  completion  of  the  month  I  would  carve  with 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  55 

my  knife  the  name  of  the  month  and  year; 
and  in  this  way  I  hoped  to  preserve  a  correct 
record  of  the  time.  As  each  month  was  fin- 
ished I  proposed  to  pass  a  cord  through  one  of 
the  holes;  and  for  the  purpose  I  at  once  braided 
a  strong  cord  from  the  fibres  of  the  cocoanut 
cloth  from  which  I  had  constructed  my  head 
gear. 

I  remembered,  accurately  the  day  of  the 
wreck,  and  as  I  had  been  on  shore  one  day,  I 
cut  the  first  notch,  and  engraved  on  the  shell: 
"December  18th,  18—." 

As  I  marked  upon  my  calendar  I  wondered 
how  many  shells  I  should  have  upon  my  string 
ere  I  was  rescued  from  my  lonely  position. 
"Perhaps,"  I  thought,  "I  may  never  see  any 
other  place."  But  I  resolved  not  to  harbor 
gloomy  thoughts ;  and  tying  a  large  hard  knot 
in  one  end  of  the  cord,  I  strung  the  shell  upon 
it,  inserting  it  from  the   outside.     Succeeding 


56  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

shells  strung  upon  the  cord  would  fit  into  one 
another  like  a  nest  of  bowls.  Thus  I  would 
have  a  complete  record,  and  a  practically  im- 
perishable one. 

As  I  knew  the  day  of  the  week  on  which  I 
had  commenced  my  lone  life,  I  resolved,  for 
each  Sunday,  to  bore  a  hole  instead  of  cutting 
a  notch,  for  I  intended  to  observe  the  Sabbath 
by  abstaining  from  work. 

Continuing  my  way  to  the  pool,  I  set  to  work 
cutting  bamboos.  I  selected  only  those  meas- 
uring about  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  before 
the  sun  reached  the  zenith  I  had  thirty  of  them 
cut  and  trimmed,  ready  to  drag  to  my  house. 

I  found  it  hot  work,  and  I  threw  myself  down 
to  rest.  For  the  first  time  I  caught  sight  of 
the  birds  that  had  been  making  such  a  babel  of 
discordant  sounds  all  the  morning.  Several  of 
them  were  flying  about  near  the  opposite  side 
of  the  pool,  and  I  at  once  recognized  them  as 
parrots. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  57 

"What  a  consolation  it  would  be,"  I  thought, 
"if  I  could  capture  one  and  teach  it  to  talk. 
It  certainly  would  prove  far  better  than  no 
companion." 

Having  landed  the  bamboos  at  the  house,  I 
set  about  cutting  them  into  lengths  correspond- 
ing to  the  height  of  the  corner  posts.  These  I 
set  into  the  ground  at  regular  intervals,  in  line 
with  the  posts,  lashing  the  upper  ends  to  the 
horizontal  poles  resting  in  the  forks,  and  to  the 
poles  across  the  other  two  sides,  using  for  the 
purpose  a  long,  supple  vine  which  I  found  grow- 
ing in  plenty  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  twisting 
around  the  trunks  of  the  trees. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Stockade  ;  A  Crusoe's  Life. 

By  the  time  I  had  finished  setting  the  poles 
into  the  ground,  thus  forming  the  enclosure  of 
the  house,  my  appetite  began  to  assert  itself; 
and  I  was  again  reminded  that  I  must  search 
for  food  other  than  cocoanuts  and  oranges. 
More  substantial  nourishment  I  must  have  if  I 
was  to  continue  to  work  and  retain  my  health 
and  strength.  But  my  extreme  anxiety  to 
carry  along  the  construction  of  my  house  suffi- 
ciently far  to  afford  a  feeling  of  security  at 
night,  decided  me  to  make  a  few  more  meals 
of    the    oranges    and    nuts   before    suspending 

58 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  59 

work  long  enough  to  discover  or  develop  new 
resources. 

Again  I  went  to  the  pool  and  cut  two  more 
bamboos,  each  twenty  feet  long.  I  then  cut 
them  in  halves,  making  four  poles  each  ten  feet 
long.  Carrying  these  to  the  house,  I  lashed 
one  across  the  upright  palings  midway  between 
the  upper  pole  and  the  ground,  lashing  them 
firmly  to  each  of  the  palings.  This  strength- 
ened the  structure,  and  shaking  it  with  all  my 
strength  I  was  gratified  to  find  that,  though 
naturally  elastic,  it  was  firm  and  strong. 

As  I  now  had  a  safe  protection  from  any  wild 
animal  of  moderate  size  and  strength,  I  felt 
that  I  should  be  secure  at  night.  I  was  on  an 
island  somewhere  to  the  northeast  of  the  Carib- 
bean sea,  in  fact,  I  reasoned  that  I  could  be 
nowhere  else;  and  from  this,  together  with 
what  I  had  read,  I  concluded  that  there  could 
be  no  very  large  or  ferocious  wild  animals  in 
the  forests  about  me. 


60  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  still  had  some  time  to  work  before  sunset, 
and  I  therefore  went  to  the  bank  of  the  stream 
to  cut  a  quantity  of  wild  canes  which  I  pro- 
posed to  weave  in  the  form  of  basket  work, 
between  the  palings,  thus  forming  the  walls  of 
.my  house. 

Cutting  the  canes  was  easy  work,  and  by 
sunset  I  had  a  great  pile  of  them  landed  by  the 
house. 

Again  satisfying  the  cravings  of  hunger  with 
oranges  and  cocoanuts,  washed  down  with  water 
from  the  brook,  I  cut  another  notch  in  the 
cocoanutrshell  calendar,  and  after  sitting  and 
listening  to  the  varied  insect  sounds  until  it  was 
quite  dark,  I  retired  to  my  couch  within  the 
inclosure. 

Lying  upon  my  couch,  until  I  fell  asleep,  I 
revolved  in  my  mind  various  plans  for  the 
future.  The  details  for  the  construction  of  my 
house  were  pretty  well  worked  out  in  my  mind; 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  61 

and  the  desirability  of  surrounding  my  abode 
with  some  sort  of  a  stockade  occurred  to  me. 
I  had  little  fear  of  attacks  from  wild  animals, 
but  I  presumed  that  the  island  was  inhabited  in 
some  part  of  it,  by  what  sort  of  people  I  had 
not  yet  considered. 

Indeed,  it  was  extremely  improbable  that  an 
island  in  this  quarter  of  the  world  could  be 
totally  uninhabited.  Whether  the  islanders 
proved  friendly  or  otherwise,  the  idea  of  a 
stockade  as  a  protection  against  possible  sur- 
prise met  with  my  immediate  approval. 

Another  question  of  extreme  importance  to 
be  considered  was  that  of  a  permanent  food 
supply.  Perhaps  only  cocoanuts  and  oranges 
abounded  in  my  near  vicinity;  at  any  rate,  I 
resolved  to  carefully  survey  the  adjacent  region 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  its  resources. 

Then  the  question  of  providing  clothing  for 
myself  must  be   considered,   for,   at  best,  my 


62  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

present  raiment  would  not  long  survive  the 
rough  usage  which  it  was  now  receiving,  and  to 
which  it  would  hereafter  be  subjected  in  the 
bush.  I  even  thought  it  might  be  well  to  con- 
struct a  suit  from  the  cocoanui^fibre  cloth,  and 
thus  save  my  civilized  clothes  for  the  day  of 
my  rescue, 

Many  other  things  passed  through  my  mind 
in  rapid  succession  as  I  lay  upon  my  couch, 
among  them  the  project  of  starting  out  upon  a 
tour  of  discovery  in  an  endeavor  to  ascertain 
the  extent  of  my  domain,  and  if  it  was  in- 
habited in  any  part  of  it. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

A  Cocoanut  Calendar ;  Food  Supply. 

The  notches  in  the  cocoanut  calendar  grew 
in  number  as  the  days  passed,  busy  days  of 
hard,  incessant  labor,  and  four  months  of  my 
exile  elapsed  ere  the  house  was  finished  to  my 
satisfaction  and  a  substantial  stockade  erected 
around  it.  The  walls  of  my  house  were  made 
of  the  wild  canes  closely  woven  like  baskei> 
work.  It  had  been  done  very  carefully,  and, 
when  completed,  I  had  a  perfect  shelter,  both 
from  the  sun  and  the  wind.  The  roof  was  made 
of  the  long  grass,  alternate  with  layers  of  bam- 
boos; and  by  using  the  larger  bamboos  in  the 

63 


64  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

centre  of  the  roof,  when  by  successive  layers  it 
reached  the  proper  thickness,  I  had  a  roof  which 
sloped  steeply  from  the  centre  to  each  edge, 
which,  carefully  covered  with  an  outside  layer 
of  the  long  grass  dressed  from  the  top  down- 
ward, would  perfectly  shed  the  water  during 
the  rainy  season.  The  thickness  of  the  roof 
rendered  it  impervious  to  wet,  and,  as  I  soon 
discovered,  almost  a  non-conductor  of  heat. 

I  left  no  windows  in  the  house,  as  I  thought 
there  would  be  sufficient  ventilation  through 
the  interstices  of  the  cane-walls,  but  I  constructed 
a  door  three  feet  wide  and  five  feet  high,  by 
lashing  bamboos  together  in  the  form  of  a  grid- 
iron, and  then  weaving  in  cane  as  I  had  done  in 
constructing  the  walls.  For  hinges  I  made  use 
of  vines  twisted  together. 

The  stockade  surrounded  the  house  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  six  feet  from  either  side,  and  it 
cost  me  several  weeks  of  steady  work.     I  had 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  65 

first  to  cut  a  great  number  of  good-sized  bam- 
boos, which,  with  only  my  knife,  was  very 
laborious  work.  I  had  frequently  to  sharpen 
the  knife  on  a  piece  of  soft,  porous  rock  which 
I  found  near  the  brook. 

Each  bamboo  was  cut  off  to  a  length  of  ten 
feet,  and  sharpened  at  the  small,  or  upper  end. 
These  I  set  into  the  ground  at  intervals  of  one 
foot,  to  a  depth  of  two  feet.  Then,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  one  foot  from  the  top  all  around  the 
enclosure,  I  lashed  long  bamboos,  using  the 
tough  vine  which  I  found  in  abundance  near 
the  edge  of  the  bush,  winding  it  around  each 
upright  bamboo,  and  around  the  horizontal 
poles.  Between  the  horizontal  pole  and  the 
ground,  I  wove  a  close  basketwork  of  the  vine. 
It  was  harder  work  weaving  in  this  vine,  as  it 
was  larger  than  the  canes;  but  it  was  very 
tough,  and  a  wall  composed  of  it  closely  woven 
would  prove  a  very  effective  defense. 


66  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

So  I  kept  busily  at  work,  day  after  day,  cut- 
ting the  vines,  trimming  off  the  leaves,  dragging 
them  to  the  house  and  weaving  them  in  around 
the  bamboo  uprights,  until  I  finally  had  a  wall 
about  me  elastic  but  capable  of  sustaining  a 
great  strain,  the  sharpened  ends  of  the  upright 
bamboos  forming  an  effectual  safeguard  against 
the  walls  being  scaled  from  the  outside. 

After  the  woven-work  of  vines  was  thor- 
oughly seasoned,  which  did  not  take  long,  I  cut 
round  holes  six  inches  in  diameter,  four  on  each 
side,  about  five  feet  from  the  ground,  in  order 
that  I  might  command  a  view  in  all  directions 
without  leaving  the  enclosure. 

In  the  side  facing  the  sea,  I  made  a  door, 
constructed  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  in  the 
house;  but,  for  the  stockade  door,  I  devised  an 
arrangement  for  securely  barring  it  on  the  in- 
side, by  using  two  large  bamboos  each  two  feet 
longer  than  the  door  was  wide,  held  in  place  by 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  67 

rings  of  the  supple  vine  which  I  twisted  about 
the  two  door-posts. 

These  rings  were  made  by  first  bending  sev- 
eral inches  of  one  end  of  the  vine  in  the  form 
of  a  circle,  and  then  winding  the  rest  of  the 
vine  around  this  ring.  Through  these  the  ends 
of  the  bars  passing  across  the  door  were  placed, 
which,  if  anything,  made  the  opening,  when 
closed  and  fastened  inside,  stronger  than  any 
other  portion  of  the  structure. 

During  all  this  time  I  had  lived  solely  upon 
cocoanuts  and  oranges,  varied  with  a  few  shell- 
fish, somewhat  resembling  periwinkles,  only 
larger,  that  I  found  along  the  beach.  These  I 
ate  raw,  and  found  them  rather  palatable  but 
somewhat  tough.  However,  as  I  continued  in 
good  health  and  strength,  I  preferred  to  com- 
plete my  house  and  stockade  before  making  a 
systematic  attempt  to  provide  other  food. 

Nothing  now  remained  to  be  done  in  connec- 


68  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

tion  with  my  dwelling,  but  to  carry  into  execu- 
tion an  idea  which  I  had  evolved  while  at  work, 
that  of  transplanting  some  creepers  from  the 
edge  of  the  forest  and  training  them  along  the 
stockade,  so  that,  as  I  calculated,  in  a  short  time, 
in  this  tropical  land  of  rapid  growth,  they  would 
completely  cover  the  stockade,  and  render  my 
retreat  more  safe  from  observation,  should  my 
solitude  be  invaded. 

During  all  this  time  I  had  suspended  work  on 
Sundays,  but  I  had  occupied  the  time  in  making 
short  trips  inland,  and  along  the  coast  in  either 
direction;  but  finding  the  forest  very  dense  as  I 
left  the  shore,  I  could  not  have  gone  more  than 
four  or  five  miles  in  any  direction.  My  trips 
along  the  shore  were  without  results,  so  far  as 
enlightenment  concerning  the  extent  of  the 
island  was  concerned,  for  every  bend  of  the 
coast  revealed  only  headlands  and  more  coast- 
line stretching  away  beyond. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  69 

The  results  of  my  wandering  in  the  bush  had 
troubled  me  not  a  little,  for  I  had  found  no  new 
fruits  and  vegetables,  and  had  discovered  no 
animals,  or  birds  that  I  could  bring  myself  to 
think  edible.  There  were  only  parrots  and 
smaller  birds,  some  of  brilliant  plumage;  and 
even  had  I  chosen  to  eat  them  I  had  no  means 
of  securing  the  game.  I  was  somewhat  sur- 
prised not  to  find  more  humming  birds.  I  saw 
only  one  kind,  a  large,  black  species,  having  two 
tiny  golden  feathers  each  about  six  inches  long 
at  the  sides  of  its  tail.  Of  snakes,  I  had  seen 
none,  nor  land  turtles. 

The  sea-shore,  too,  seemed  to  be  as  devoid  of 
food  supplies,  for  I  had  seen  no  sea  turtle, 
though  I  knew  that  they  should  be  plentiful  in 
this  latitude. 

But  I  refrained  from  attempting  a  systematic 
exploration,  feeling  it  would  be  wise  to  first 
provide  as  secure  a  retreat  as  possible  for  my 
permanent  headquarters. 


CHAPTER  VIE. 
Thoughts  of  the  Future  ;  Making  a  Bow-  G-un. 

My  house  was  now  finished,  and  I  began,  with 
a  light  heart  to  think  about  starting  on  a  long 
exploring  trip.  Before  taking  my  departure, 
however,  two  questions  of  importance  must  be 
solved,  if  possible,  namely,  that  of  devising  a 
weapon  with  which  I  could  shoot  game,  if  any 
was  found;  and  some  means  of  procuring  fire. 

The  morning  following  the  completion  of  the 
house  and  stockade,  as  I  was  walking  toward 
the  orange  tree  which  continued  to  furnish  me 
with  an  ample  supply  of  fruit,  an  idea  came  to 
me,  and  so  astonished  was  I  that  I   had  not 

70 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  71 

thought  of  it  before  that  I  stopped  short  and 
gazed  straight  ahead  of  me  for  several  minutes. 

My  knife ! 

Here  was  steel;  now  for  a  flint,  and  fire  would 
be  procurable  at  any  moment.  I  understood 
the  use  of  flint  and  steel,  for  many  times,  in  our 
boyhood,  my  brother  and  I,  on  our  excursions 
in  the  woods,  had  made  fires  with  old  gun-flints 
and  our  pocket-knives  as  steel,  for  cooking  grey 
squirrels  when  we  were  fortunate  enough  to 
shoot  any.  We  did  this  from  choice,  because  of 
the  novelty. 

Without  further  thought  of  breakfast  I  turned 
toward  the  shore  to  search  for  a  substitute  for 
flint,  for  I  did  not  expect  to  find  the  real  article 
here,  as  I  had  only  seen  soft,  calcareous  rock 
which  appeared  to  be  the  prevailing  kind. 

A  long  search  up  and  down  the  beach  failed 
to  disclose  any  hard  rock,  not  even  a  pebble  of 
sufficient  size.     Shells  were  abundant,  but  they 


n  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

would  not  answer  the  purpose.  I  next  turned 
my  attention  to  the  brook,  and  searched  along 
the  shallowest  places  for  a  hard  stone.  I  found 
one  at  last,  round  and  flat,  about  the  size  of  a 
silver  dollar.  It  was  very  dark,  almost  black, 
and  appeared  to  be  quite  hard.  Wiping  it  with 
my  hand  I  laid  it  down  in  the  sun  and  waited 
impatiently  for  it  to  dry.  When  perfectly  free 
of  moisture,  I  opened  my  knife,  and  hold- 
ing the  blade  firmly  in  my  left  hand,  I  struck 
the  stone  sharply  against  the  back  of  the  blade, 
with  a  quick  downward  stroke.  No  spark  ap- 
peared. Over  and  over  again  I  tried  but  with- 
out success,  but  I  saw  that  the  stone  scratched 
the  steel,  which  gave  me  hope  that  the  stone 
was  sufficiently  hard. 

After  several  more  trials,  a  tiny  spark  shot 
downward  from  the  blade.  My  joy  knew  no 
bounds.  Tinder  must  be  procured.  Like  a 
flash  came  to  my  mind  the  feathery  heads  of  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  73 

wild  cane.  If  I  could  find  one  dry  enough  I 
thought  it  would  do.  I  at  once  ran  up  stream 
to  where  the  canes  grew,  and  after  a  little  search 
I  found  a  plume  that  was  dead  and  quite  dry. 
Bending  the  cane  down  I  gathered  a  handful  of 
the  floss  from  the  head,  and  going  to  the  foot  of 
a  cocoanut  tree,  I  lay  the  cane  floss  down  by 
the  foot  of  the  tree  and  once  more  tried  to  pro- 
duce a  spark.  I  was  soon  able  to  obtain  a  spark 
frequently,  but  they  invariably  failed  to  reach 
the  floss,  or  to  ignite  when  they  touched  it. 
But  I  saw  that  I  had  fire  within  reach,  and  it 
only  required  perseverance  to  procure  it.  Hold- 
ing the  knife  blade  closer  to  the  floss,  I  struck 
again.  This  time  a  shower  of  tiny  sparks  de- 
scended to  the  floss,  and,  yes,  it  had  caught! 
Quickly  dropping  the  knife  and  stone  I  partially 
covered  it  with  my  hands  and  very  gently  blew 
upon  it.  A  tiny  wreath  of  smoke  arose  as  the 
fire  spread  through  the  wad  of  floss.     Blowing 


74  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

upon  it  still  harder,  in  short  quick  puffs,  a  tiny 
flame  leaped  up ;  and  quickly  gathering  such  dry 
leaves  and  grass  as  I  could  reach,  I  heaped  them 
upon  the  flame.  These  were  followed  by  small 
dry  sticks  until  I  had  a  good  fire  going.  I  now 
only  needed  something  to  cook,  and  that  I  pro- 
posed to  search  for.  But  fire  was  desirable  as 
company  at  night,  and  to  ward  off  wild  beasts 
should  any  be  found;  also  in  the  future  I  might 
wish  to  make  signals  by  the  aid  of  smoke. 

Not  wishing  to  injure  my  faithful  friend  the 
cocoanut  tree,  I  allowed  the  fire  to  go  out,  feel- 
ing full  confidence  in  my  ability  to  procure  it 
any  time  I  wished. 

I  now  set  about  preparing  for  my  journey  of 
exploration,  meanwhile  carefully  watering,  sev- 
eral times  each  day,  the  creepers  that  I  had  set 
out  along  the  walls  of  the  stockade,  until  they 
showed  no  further  signs  of  wilting  during  the 
greatest  heat  of  the  day.     The  water  I  brought, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  75 

with  much  labor  and  many  trips,  from  the  brook, 
in  cocoanut  shells. 

It  occurred  to  me  to  plant  vines  in  front  of 
the  door  of  the  stockade,  so  that,  should  I  be 
absent  for  a  great  length  of  time,  they  would 
grow  up  over  the  door  and  still  further  obscure 
my  retreat.  Acting  on  this  idea,  I  searched 
about  the  bush  for  a  vine  less  woody  than  those 
planted  along  the  stockade.  At  length,  on  the 
further  side  of  the  clearing,  I  discovered  a  vine, 
not  unlike  a  morning  glory  vine,  only  it  had 
larger  leaves,  climbing  up  a  tall,  smooth  tree, 
and  this  seemed  to  answer  my  purpose.  So, 
getting  down  upon  my  knees  I  began  to  dig 
around  the  root  in  order  to  move  it  without  dis- 
turbing the  earth  immediately  surrounding  it; 
when  but  a  few  inches  below  the  top  of  the 
ground  I  came  across  a  round,  hard  object  which 
I  at  first  thought  to  be  a  large  root  of  the  tree, 
but  in  digging  still  further  around  it  I  saw  that 


76  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

the  supposed  root  moved,  until  finally  I  lifted  it 
out  of  the  ground.  As  I  did  so  I  noticed  that 
it  had  one  end  attached  to  the  vine  that  I  was 
after.  The  root  was  fully  a  foot  and  a  half 
long,  and  about  five  inches  in  diameter,  slightly 
rounded  at  the  ends.  I  cut  off  the  vine  with 
my  knife,  and  ran  with  the  root  to  the  brook 
and  washed  it  clean.  I  now  saw  that  I  had 
found  some  kind  of  a  tuber.  With  my  knife  I 
cut  through  the  thin  rough  skin,  disclosing  a 
white  substance  beneath.  Quickly  cutting  it  in 
halves  I  found  that  the  inside  of  the  tuber  was 
white  and  starchy.  I  wondered  what  it  could 
be.  It  was  not  a  sweet  potato,  for  the  latter  is 
yellow.  Then  I  began  to  think  of  the  roots 
that  I  had  read  about  in  books  of  travel  in  the 
tropics,  and  the  first  that  came  to  my  mind  was 
the  yam.  Yes,  this  must  be  the  yam,  though 
I  did  not  know  before  that  its  foliage  was  in  the 
form  of  a  vine, 


A  YANKEE    CRtSOE.  7? 

Here  food  was  in  plenty,  healthful  and  nour- 
ishing, and  sufficient  to  sustain  life  even  if  I 
found  no  other,  it  being  only  necessary  to  roast 
them  in  ashes. 

I  resolved  to  plant  yam  vines  in  front  of  the 
gate  to  the  stockade,  for,  while  the  vines  were 
growing  up  to  conceal  it,  they  would,  in  the 
meantime  be  storing  away  food  for  me  against 
my  return.  This  plan  I  put  into  immediate 
execution. 

My  next  thought  was  of  devising  a  weapon  for 
offence  and  defence,  also  to  be  used  in  killing 
game.  The  idea  of  a  bow  and  arrows  at  first 
suggested  itself,  but  this  was  abandoned  for  the 
bow-gun,  for,  as  boys,  we  were  able  to  do  good 
execution  with  the  latter  as  it  had  a  stock  and 
breech,  admitting  of  securing  better  aim. 

Looking  about  for  material  from  which  to 
construct  the  bow-gun,  the  bamboo  seemed  to 
be  the  most  available  for  the  barrel;  so  I  cut 


78  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

down  one  about  two  inches  in  diameter,  from 
which  I  selected  the  longest  and  straightest 
section  between  the  joints.  Next  I  cut  a  deep 
notch  about  four  inches  from  the  larger  end, 
and  extending  to  the  centre  of  the  bamboo. 
From  the  lower  end  of  the  notch  I  split  away 
the  upper  half  of  the  tube,  thus  forming  a 
spout  about  four  feet  long  which  was  to  carry 
the  arrow.  For  a  breech  I  selected  a  forked 
stick,  the  butt  of  which  I  carefully  rounded 
and  smoothed  until  it  would  fit  tightly  into  the 
round  socket  at  the  larger  end  of  the  barrel, 
above  the  notch.  This,  though  crude,  furnished 
a  very  fair  substitute  for  a  breech  to  rest  against 
my  shoulder  when  taking  aim,  particularly  as  I 
had  thought  to  select  a  forked  stick  which  had 
the  butt  slightly  bent  so  that,  when  fixed  in  the 
breech-end  of  the  barrel,  the  proper  elevation 
was  given. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  a  bow  and  fix  it 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  79 

firmly  across  the  under  side  of  the  barrel,  at 
right  angles  to  it.  I  searched  about  in  the 
bush  a  long  time  before  I  found  a  tree  of  the 
right  size,  straight  and  without  branches ;  and, 
on  bending  it  down  toward  the  ground  and  cutr 
ting  it,  I  found  that  it  was  elastic  and  quite 
hard.  From  the  tree  I  cut  a  section  about 
three  feet  long,  which  I  squared  for  a  distance 
of  two  inches  in  the  middle,  whittling  what  was 
to  be  the  inner  side  down  flat  from  either  side 
of  the  squared  part  to  either  end,  each  half 
tapering  slightly  from  the  middle.  I  did  not 
remove  the  bark  from  the  back  of  the  bow. 

Next  I  cut  a  square  slot  about  the  width  of 
the  squared  part  in  the  centre  of  the  bow,  in 
the  under  side  of  the  bamboo  about  a  foot  from 
what  was  to  be  the  muzzle,  being  careful,  how- 
ever, not  to  cut  through  into  the  groove  of  the 
barrel.  Into  this  I  carefully  fitted  the  squared 
portion  of  the  bow,  after  which  notches  opening 


80  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

in  opposite  directions  were  cut  on  the  lower 
side  of  the  barrel,  one  on  each  side  of  the  bow. 
With  one  of  the  supple  vines  I  then  lashed  the 
bow  firmly,  drawing  the  vine  over  the  notches. 
When  the  vine  was  thoroughly  dry  the  bow 
would  be  held  firmly  and  rigidly  in  place. 

The  question  of  arrows  was  quickly  solved, 
for  I  could  think  of  nothing  that  could  serve 
the  purpose  better  than  the  long  smooth  stem 
which  supported  the  heads  of  the  wild  canes 
These  were  of  just  the  right  size  and  length. 
I  cut  several  dozens  of  them,  sharpening  one 
end  of  each,  and  notching  the  other  to  receive 
the  string.  To  give  sufficient  weight  to  the 
execution  end  of  the  arrow,  I  split  a  piece  of 
the  tough  vine  into  fine  strips,  with  which  I 
closely  wound  the  arrows  near  the  ends,  until 
the  proper  weight  was  secured  to  balance  them 
during  their  flight  and  thus  render  them  accu- 
rate.    For  the  wings  of  the  arrows  I  used  sprays 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  81 

from  the  plumes  of  the  wild  cane,  until  I  could 
find  something  more  suitable,  fastening  them  to 
the  string  end  with  fibres  from  the  ever  useful 
vine. 

It  now  only  remained  to  provide  a  string  for 
the  bow,  before  the  weapon  could  be  tested. 
Carefully  separating  the  longest  fibres  of  the 
cococnut  cloth,  I  braided  them  into  a  strong 
cord  of  uniform  size,  which  I  fastened  to  the 
bow. 

And  now  for  the  test !  Drawing  the  string 
back  to  the  notch,  I  placed  one  of  the  arrows 
in  the  groove  of  the  gun  and,  raising  the  gun 
to  my  shoulder,  I  released  the  string  with  an 
upward  pressure  of  my  right  thumb,  at  the 
same  time  pointing  the  gun  in  the  direction  of 
the  brook. 

As  straight  as  a  line  could  be  drawn,  the 
arrow  sped  away  over  the  brook  and  was  lost  in 
the    thicket   beyond.     I   felt   confident   of  the 


82  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

success  of  my  bow-gun,  and  after  constructing 
a  quiver  for  the  arrows  from  a  piece  of  the 
cocoanut  cloth  fastened  together  with  thorns, 
and  braiding  a  cord  with  which  to  sling  it  over 
my  shoulder,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  final 
preparations  for  departure. 

These  consisted  of  providing  a  store  of  pro- 
visions in  case  I  did  not  immediately  find  food 
on  the  way.  I  roasted  several  of  the  yams, 
and  gathered  two  dozen  oranges  which  were 
stored  in  a  bag  made  of  the  cocoanut  cloth.  I 
did  not  include  cocoanuts,  for  I  was  sure  to  find 
plenty  as  I  went  along. 

I  took  the  precaution  to  gather  a  quantity  of 
the  cane  floss  for  tinder,  which  I  placed  in  a 
short  piece  of  bamboo,  which  I  stopped  up 
tightly  at  both  ends  with  wooden  plugs.  This 
was  to  protect  it  from  moisture  in  case  of  rain. 
I  also  took  the  cocoanut  calendar. 

The  morning  for  departure  arrived.     Taking 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  83 

a  farewell  plunge  in  the  brook,  I  made  a  hearty 
breakfast  of  yams  and  oranges,  after  which, 
closing  the  door  of  the  stockade  and  fastening 
it  with  withes  of  the  vine,  I  slung  the  quiver 
of  arrows  and  the  bag  of  provisions  over  my 
shoulder,  took  the  bow-gun  and  started  away 
along  the  shore,  going  in  a  southerly  direction. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Starts  to  Explore  the  Island;   Turtles'  Eggs. 

I  followed  the  narrow  line  of  sand,  sometimes 
having  to  make  a  detour  inland  to  get  around  a 
rocky  point  of  land  which  jutted  out  into  the 
water,  or  to  avoid  a  dagger-like  plant  the  spike- 
like leaves  of  which  were  armed  with  spines  as 
sharp  as  needles.  This,  I  concluded,  must  be 
the  Spanish  bayonet. 

The  sun  shone  brightly,  and  the  sea,  deep 
blue  and  calm,  stretched  away  toward  the  west, 
the  long,  gentle  swells  causing  but  a  ripple  on 
the  beach.  As  I  progressed,  the  island  along 
the  shore  became  less  attractive  than  it  was  in 

84 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  85 

the  near  vicinity  of  my  house ;  and  in  some 
places  it  had  a  parched  appearance.  Once  I 
was  obliged  to  cross  a  flat  area  of  several  acres 
in  extent,  bounded  by  a  high  bluff,  where  I  had 
to  make  my  way  cautiously  among  cactus  plants 
of  various  kinds;  some  low  and  spreading  over 
the  ground  and  bearing  beautiful,  yellow,  wax- 
like blossoms,  and  others  a  great  size,  like  trees 
denuded  of  the  smaller  branches  and  twigs. 

The  sun  had  reached  the  zenith  when  I  came 
to  a  small  stream  and  sat  down  beneath  a  wide- 
spreading  tree  to  rest,  and  to  refresh  myself 
from  the  provisions  that  I  carried.  As  I  ate  I 
gazed  up  among  the  branches  of  the  great  tree, 
whos3  broad  leaves  furnished  such  a  grateful 
shade,  when  I  saw  that  it  bore  fruit,  round  and 
green,  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter.  This  I 
believed  to  be  bread-fruit,  from  the  pictures  I 
had  seen,  and  I  resolved  to  carry  two  or  three 
along  with  me,  only  obtaining  them  by  climbing 
the  tree. 


86  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Although  I  did  not  intend  to  travel  steadily 
in  the  heat  of  the  day  during  my  march,  I  felt 
anxious  to  make  a  good  beginning  on  the  first 
day  out,  so  after  getting  cool  and  feeling  well 
rested,  I  went  on. 

As  I  crossed  the  brook,  scores  of  small  brown 
crabs  scudded  away  along  the  bank.  They  were 
the  first  I  had  seen  during  my  sojourn  on  the 
island.  Spiders,  I  had  seen  many  of,  some  of 
great  size  with  hairy  bodies  and  long  legs;  but 
as  they  showed  no  ferocity,  I  had  no  fear  of 
them.  Indeed  on  account  of  their  great  size  I 
did  not  believe  them  to  be  poisonous.  As  a 
rule,  the  natural  histories  said,  poisonous  spiders 
of  the  tropics  are  not  of  great  size,  and  most  of 
them  have  short  legs. 

Having  made  a  long  detour  around  a  swampy 
place  which  extended  to  the  sea,  I  came  out  of 
the  bush  upon  a  wide  beach  shaped  like  a  semi- 
circle, or  half-moon ;  and  as  I  did  so  my  attention 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  87 

was  attracted  to  several  large,  glossy,  blackish 
objects  scattered  over  the  beach.  I  approached 
one,  and  found  it  to  be  a  monstrous  turtle. 
There  must  have  been  hundreds  of  them,  and, 
one  by  one,  as  I  moved  about,  they  started  away 
toward  the  water.  Some  of  them  were  very 
large,  and  must  have  weighed  three  or  four 
hundred  pounds.  Had  I  been  so  disposed  I  had 
no  means  of  dispatching  one  for  food,  but  I  felt 
sure  that  the  turtles  had  been  depositing  their 
eggs  in  the  sand,  and  I  could  easily  roast  the 
eggs  in  the  fire,  which  would  form  a  very 
acceptable  adjunct  to  my  larder. 

Accordingly,  digging  into  the  sand  where  the 
turtles  had  been  lying,  I  found  plenty  of  round 
white  eggs,  a  quantity  of  which  I  gathered  to 
add  to  my  stores. 

It  was  now  neat  the  end  of  the  afternoon,  as 
I  observed  by  the  sun,  and  I  decided  to  select  a 
place  to  camp  for  the  night.     I  selected  a  spot 


88  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

near  a  thicket  of  thorn  bushes,  which  would 
form  an  effectual  protection  to  the  rear,  and 
then  began  collecting  dry  branches  for  a  fire. 
The  sun  was  low  in  the  sky,  and  the  heat  was 
greatly  moderated,  and,  by  the  time  I  had 
collected  a  large  pile  of  fire  wood,  a  sea  breeze 
sprang  up,  taking  the  place  of  the  land  breeze  of 
the  day,  making  it  cool  and  comfortable. 

I  had  no  difficulty  this  time  in  starting  a  fire, 
and  as  soon  as  it  had  burned  down  sufficiently  I 
buried  a  yam  and  some  of  the  turtles'  eggs  in 
the  ashes,  and,  while  they  were  cooking  I  occu- 
pied the  time  cutting  away  a  part  of  the  smaller 
thorn  bushes,  making  a  cleared  place  in  which  I 
could  sleep  during  the  night,  the  thicket  over 
me  furnishing  protection  from  the  dampness  of 
the  air. 

By  the  time  this  was  accomplished,  and  a 
cocoanut  shell  of  water  was  brought  from  the 
brook,  I  judged  that  the  yam  and  eggs  were 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  89 

sufficiently  cooked,  which  they  proved  to  be 
when  I  uncovered  them,  and  I  at  once  proceeded 
to  eat  my  evening  meal.  The  eggs  proved  to 
be  of  good  flavor,  but  wanted  salt.  This  re- 
minded me  that  I  must  provide  a  supply  of  salt, 
which  I  could  do  by  evaporating  some  sea-water 
as  soon  as  I  had  the  opportunity. 

It  was  now  past  sunset  and  rapidly  growing 
dark;  so  I  replenished  the  pile  of  firewood,  and 
piling  a  quantity  of  it  upon  the  fire,  I  lay  down 
with  a  bunch  of  grass  for  a  pillow,  and  in  a  short 
time  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Under  the  Coils  of  a  Snake. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  it  was  with  a 
peculiar  sense  of  oppression.  In  the  first  drowsi- 
ness I  thought  there  was  a  great  weight  across 
my  chest;  and  my  arms  were  aching.  I  tried 
to  move,  but  found  that  I  could  not  lift  my 
arms.  They  seemed  to  be  pressed  closely  to  my 
sides.  Thoroughly  awake  now,  I  was  terrified 
to  find  that  I  was  lying  beneath  the  folds  of  an 
enormous  snake. 

Frightened  as  I  was  beyond  all  expression,  I 
maintained  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  keep 
perfectly  quiet  until  I  could  more  fully  realize 

90 


An  unwelcome  visitor. 


Page  90. 


A    YANKEE    CRUSOE.  01 

my  true  situation  —  and,  above  all,  locate  the 
position  of  the  great  reptile's  head. 

As  I  gazed  at  the  great  scaly  coils  that  en- 
veloped me,  I  saw  that  the  snake  was  of  a  pale 
yellow  color.  It  was  perfectly  motionless.  By 
tracing  the  taper  of  its  body  I  saw  that  the  head 
must  be  somewhere  near  my  right  shoulder. 

I  was  in  a  great  quandary  what  to  do.  Al- 
though still  anxious  for  results,  I  was  now  quite 
calm,  and  my  mind  was  full  of  plans  for  escap- 
ing from  the  terrible  coils.  I  dared  not  move 
for  fear  that  the  snake  would  strike  me  with  its 
fangs,  or  that  it  might  encircle  my  body  and 
squeeze  me  to  death.  Some  snakes,  like  the 
boa-constrictor,  kill  their  victims  by  this  method; 
and  while  I  felt  sure  that  this  snake  was  not  a 
boa,  on  account  of  its  color,  I  felt  that  it  had  the 
strength  to  crush  me  to  death. 

For  a  long  time  I  lay  in  this  position,  how 
long  I  could  not  tell;   but  the  sun  had  grown 


92  A  YANKEE   CRUSOE. 

intensely  hot  as  it  beat  down  upon  the  thicket. 
I  heard  the  cries  of  the  birds,  and  looked  up  at 
the  blue  sky  with  the  fleecy  clouds  floating 
across  it,  wondering  whether  it  was  to  be  my 
fate  to  die  here  in  the  folds  of  a  huge  serpent. 
I  wondered  too,  if  bye  and  bye  my  bones, 
bleached  white,  would  be  found  in  the  thicket 
on  the  shore  of  this  lonely  island. 

I  was  gasping  for  breath  on  account  of  the 
heat,  my  cramped  position  and  the  weight  of 
the  serpent's  folds  across  my  chest,  when  I  felt 
it  move  a  little.  I  wondered  if  it  was  preparing 
to  strike  me.  I  did  not  move,  and  in  a  moment 
it  began  to  move  again,  and  the  coils  slipped 
across  my  body.  Slowly  it  continued  to  move, 
until  my  arms  were  free  and  its  tail  swept  across 
my  face. 

I  was  now  free,  but  I  waited  a  few  seconds  to 
see  if  the  snake  was  leaving  me.  Distinctly 
hearing   it   gliding   from   me,   I  arose  quietly, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  93 

feeling  stiff  and  sore  in  my  arms  and  chest. 
The  snake  was  not  in  sight,  but  seeing  the  grass 
moving  a  little  distance  away,  seizing  a  large 
stone  I  sprang  after  it,  but  it  escaped  into  the 
bush. 

I  reasoned  that  the  snake  must  have  crawled 
under  the  thorn  bushes  after  I  lay  down,  and 
that  it  coiled  upon  my  body  for  warmth,  as 
the  nights  were  frequently  uncomfortably  cool; 
and  so  soundly  had  I  slept  that  its  movements 
had  not  awakened  me. 

After  this  unpleasant  adventure  I  felt  anxious 
to  be  moving,  and,  making  a  fire,  cooked  some 
eggs  which,  with  oranges  from  the  stores,  com- 
prised my  breakfast;  after  which  I  gathered  a 
few  more  turtles'  eggs,  and  resumed  my  march. 

As  I  had  done  the  day  before  I  followed  the 
coast,  but  instead  of  keeping  along  the  sand  I 
followed  the  edge  of  the  forest,  thinking  it 
might  prove  more  advantageous  to  do  so  as  it 


94  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

would  enable  me  to  keep  a  look-out  for  game, 
and  perhaps  discover  new  fruits.  My  progress 
was  necessarily  much  slower,  but  the  walking 
was  easier  as  the  trees  shielded  me  from  the 
direct  heat  of  the  sun,  which,  on  the  beach  was 
terrific,  the  white  sand  producing  a  fearful  glare 
which  caused  no  little  pain  in  my  eyes. 

As  I  proceeded,  the  country  became  more 
open,  and  I  frequently  crossed  quite  large  tree- 
less tracts  of  tall  grass,  or  stretches  which,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  tropical  vegetation  surround- 
ing might  have  been  taken  for  New  England 
pasture  land. 

One  morning,  just  after  resuming  my  march 
as  I  was  crossing  one  of  the  latter  grass  tracts, 
a  bird  different  from  any  I  had  before  seen 
arose  from  the  ground  and  flew  into  the  thicket 
on  the  opposite  side.  Its  color  was  light  drab, 
and  the  wings  and  under  tail  feathers  were 
white.      I  approached   the    edge   of   the   bush 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  95 

cautiously,  meantime,  drawing  back  the  string  of 
my  bow-gun  and  fixing  an  arrow  in  place.  Lay- 
ing aside  the  bag  of  provisions  I  crept  softly 
along,  until  a  sharp  "  coo-o-o  "  drew  my  atten- 
tion to  the  branches  of  a  tree,  where  I  saw  the 
bird  stepping  gingerly  along  one  of  the  larger 
limbs.  Apparently  it  had  not  seen  me,  so,  care- 
fully moving  to  one  side  until  I  had  a  low  bush 
between  me  and  the  game,  I  worked  up  a  little 
nearer  in  order  to  make  sure  of  being  within 
range  of  the  arrow.  Then,  rising  quietly  to  one 
knee,  I  took  careful  aim  and  released  the  string. 
The  sharp  "twang,"  much  to  my  surprise  was 
instantly  followed  by  a  flutter  as  the  bird  came 
tumbling  to  the  ground.  I  hastened  forward 
and  picked  it  up.  The  arrow  had  passed  en- 
tirely through  the  neck,  so  that  it  was  quite 
dead  in  a  few  moments.  I  saw  that  it  was  a 
species  of  wild  pigeon,  and  therefore  edible ;  and 
I  congratulated  myself  on  securing  such  an  ac- 
ceptable change  in  my  fare. 


96  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  saw  no  more  pigeons  after  that,  but  during 
the  succeeding  days  I  found  several  orange  trees 
from  which  I  replenished  my  supply  of  this 
refreshing  fruit. 

I  continued  steadily  on,  making  no  important 
discoveries,  following  the  edge  of  the  brush,  but 
always  keeping  the  sea  in  sight.  Almost  every 
day  I  went  to  the  beach  to  look  for  turtles' 
eggs,  which  I  usually  found  in  abundance. 

The  coast  continued  to  loom  up  before  me, 
head-land  after  head-land,  stretches  of  beach  and 
rocky  bay  shores.  Allowing  for  the  indentations 
of  the  coast  that  I  followed,  I  concluded  that 
the  island  was  a  large  one ;  and,  the  fact  that  I 
was  gradually  turning  toward  the  direction  of 
the  sun  convinced  me  that  its  shape  was  nearly 
round. 

I  always  camped  just  before  sunset  that  I 
might  have  sufficient  time  to  make  a  fire,  cook 
and  eat  supper  before  dark. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  97 

I  had  not  kept  a  fire  after  supper  was  cooked, 
as,  having  neither  seen  nor  heard  anything  of 
wild  animals  of  any  kind,  I  did  not  feel  the  need 
of  it;  and,  beside,  I  was  becoming  accustomed 
to  being  alone,  and  to  sleeping  in  the  open  air, 
and  the  nervousness  of  the  first  few  nights  after 
I  was  cast  ashore  had  entirely  left  me. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixth  day  I  had,  in  my 
journey,  turned  around  so  that  the  direction 
which  I  followed  was  a  little  more  than  right 
angles  to  that  taken  where  I  left  my  house.  In 
other  words,  instead  of  going  nearly  south,  my 
course  was  now  nearly  southeast. 

At  the  end  of  the  seventh  day  I  came  to  a 
large  stream  which  was  too  wide  and  deep  to 
ford.  The  next  day  being  Sunday  I  resolved 
to  pitch  camp  and  remain  there  until  Monday. 
Meanwhile  I  would  decide  whether  to  devise 
some  means  of  fording  the  stream,  or  follow  up 
its  course. 


98  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Although  I  had  not,  as  yet,  done  any  work  on 
Sunday,  I  decided  that  it  would  be  no  great 
violation  of  the  day  to  try  to  evaporate  a  little 
sea  water,  while  I  was  in  camp,  and  thus  pro- 
cure a  little  salt,  which  I  was  craving. 

That  night  before  going  to  sleep,  I  revolved 
several  schemes  in  my  mind,  and,  ere  I  fell 
asleep,  I  believed  I  had  solved  the  question  of 
making  salt. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

The  Cave  on  the  Mountain  ;  A  Beacon  ;  Attacked  by 
Wild  Pigs. 

After  breakfast  the  following  morning,  I  cut 
a  large  quantity  of  fine,  long  grass,  which  I  pro- 
ceeded to  make  into  large  bunches,  all  I  could 
hold  in  my  hands,  tieing  them  with  wisps  of  the 
grass  itself.  Then  I  cut  two  forked  stakes  and 
set  them  into  the  ground  about  ten  feet  apart. 
Going  a  few  rods  up  the  bank  of  the  stream 
where  I  saw  some  bamboos  growing,  I  cut  one, 
and  trimming  it,  carried  it  to  the  camp,  and 
placed  it,  one  end  in  each  of  the  forks  of  the 
stakes. 

99 


100  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Taking  the  grass  I  went  to  the  edge  of  the 
beach  and  thoroughly  saturated  it  in  the  salt 
water  after  which  I  carried  it  to  the  camp,  and 
parting  each  bunch  in  the  middle,  I  hung  them 
over  the  pole. 

The  idea  proved  highly  successful,  for  the  hot 
sun  evaporated  the  water  very  quickly,  leaving 
particles  of  salt  clinging  to  the  grass  throughout 
each  bunch. 

I  then  gathered  a  quantity  of  broad  leaves 
which  I  laid  on  the  ground  so  that  their  edges 
over-lapped,  and  by  gently  shaking  the  bunches 
of  grass  the  salt  fell  upon  the  leaves  in  a  fine 
white  shower. 

I  repeated  the  process  several  times  until  I 
must  have  had  fully  half  a  pound  of  salt. 

Preparing  a  short  piece  of  bamboo  by  plugging 
one  end  as  I  had  done  in  making  the  box  for  the 
tinder,  I  carefully  gathered  up  the  salt  and 
poured  it  into  the  bamboo,  enough  to  last  a  long 
time. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  101 

I  had  determined  to  go  no  further  along  the 
coast,  but  to  follow  the  course  of  the  stream  to 
its  source  which  I  judged  must  be  among  the 
mountains  which  seemed  to  extend  across  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  island.  This  I  wished 
to  do  along  the  opposite  bank,  but,  as  I  could 
not  cross  the  stream  at  this  point,  I  decided  to 
follow  the  bank  on  which  I  now  was,  rather 
than  take  the  time  necessary  to  construct  a 
raft.  , 

If  I  followed  the  stream  to  its  source  I  should 
reach  the  mountains,  and  besides,  have  gained 
a  fair  idea  of  the  island  in  all  but  the  extreme 
south-eastern  part.  From  the  tops  of  some  of 
the  mountains,  I  believed  that  I  could  gain  a 
very  good  view  of  the  small  portion  un traversed, 
or  rather  not  encircled  by  my  route,  which 
could  not  be  very  great.  If  the  island  was  in- 
habited anywhere  in  that  direction,  I  believed 
I  should  see  some  signs  from  the  tops  of  the 
mountains. 


102  a  Yankee  crusoe. 

I  really  had  no  faith  that  the  island  was  in- 
habited, for,  being  comparatively  small,  if  there 
were  people  there  I  must  have  met  some  signs, 
ere  this,  to  indicate  it. 

I  had  another  object  in  wishing  to  reach  the 
mountains,  which  was  to  see  if  any  land  was  in 
sight  to  the  south,  east  and  southeast.  One 
thing  I  was  perfectly  sure  of,  that  this  island 
was  near  the  Virgin  group,  perhaps  a  little  north 
of  those  islands,  if  not  even  one  of  them;  so 
that,  if  people  did  not  regularly  inhabit  it,  there 
must  be  islands  not  far  away  that  were  inhab- 
ited, and  people  must,  therefore,  occasionally 
visit  my  island. 

I  felt,  moreover,  anxious  to  reach  the  moun- 
tains as  quickly  as  possible,  because,  as  I  had 
calculated  from  my  limited  knowledge  of  the 
climate,  the  rainy  season  must  soon  set  in,  which 
would  make  travel  unpleasant,  if  not  difficult  or 
impossible.     And  besides,  I  wished  to  be  away 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  103 

from  the  lowlands  of  the  coast  during  heavy 
rains,  as  I  knew  it  could  not  be  so  healthful  as 
the  mountains. 

So,  getting  my  effects  together,  I  set  out,  fol- 
lowing the  course  of  the  stream. 

For  the  first  few  miles  the  stream  flowed 
across  a  flat  country,  which  became  rocky  the 
further  I  went,  and  the  stream  became  more 
rapid  in  its  flow. 

Several  pretty  cascades  were  passed  and,  in 
places,  I  was  obliged  to  do  some  sharp  scramb- 
ling over  rocks  that  were  overgrown  with 
creeping  vines,  among  which  convolvuli  were 
conspicuous. 

For  four  days  I  continued  to  ascend  the 
stream,  until  lofty  hills  began  to  rise  on  either 
side  abruptly  from  the  banks ;  which  indicated 
that  I  was  getting  very  near  the  mountains. 

The1  sides  of  the  foot-hills  were  heavily 
wooded,  but,   as  I  left  them  and  entered   the 


104  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

mountains,  gradually  ascending  to  a  higher 
altitude,  the  vegetation  grew  less  dense  and 
changed  in  its  general  appearance. 

The  stream  was  now  little  more  than  a  small 
rushing  mountain  torrent,  foaming  over  the 
rocks.  At  the  end  of  the  fifth  day,  just  before 
sunset,  I  reached  the  source  of  the  stream,  for 
coming  suddenly  to  a  wall  of  rock  above  which 
the  mountain  rose  precipitously,  I  beheld  the 
brook  bubbling  forth  from  the  bowels  of  the 
mountains.  I  decided  to  camp  here  for  the 
night,  and  proceeded  about  my  usual  prepara- 
tions for  getting  supper.  I  had  no  yams,  but 
plenty  of  oranges;  but  presently  I  saw  some 
yam  vines  growing  a  short  distance  away,  and 
it  was  the  work  of  a  few  minutes  only  to  pro- 
cure enough  for  supper  and  breakfast. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  the  sky  was 
partially  overcast.  As  I  had  calculated,  the 
rainy  season  was  undoubtedly  about  to  set  in, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  105 

and  I  resolved  to  hasten  to  the  top  of  one  of 
the  mountains  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  I  felt 
that,  upon  the  outlook  from  the  highest  eleva- 
tion depended  my  plans  for  a  considerable  time 
in  the  future. 

So,  hastily  preparing  and  eating  my  morning 
meal,  I  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  rock  which 
rose  above  my  camping  place,  and  saw  that  the 
highest  mountain  was  not  more  than  five  miles 
away.  I  set  out  at  once.  The  way  was  not 
difficult  except  where  it  led  across  a  deep  ravine 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where  the  under- 
growth and  creepers  formed  a  dense  tangle;  but 
once  through  this,  I  found  the  way  almost  clear 
of  low  bush.  I  now  began  a  steep  climb.  As 
I  ascended,  the  cocoanut  trees  became  less  plen- 
tiful, and  their  places  were  taken  by  other 
species  of  palm,  great  ferns  as  large  as  trees, 
and  giant  cacti. 

As  nearly  as  I  could  tell,  with  the  sun  partly 


106  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

obscured  by  clouds,  it  was  near  mid-day  when  I 
came  upon  a  broad  table-land  of  grass,  dotted 
here  and  there  with  groves  of  trees.  Beyond, 
rose  the  last  peak.  Fearing  rain,  I  pushed  for- 
ward, resolving  to  reach  the  top  before  dark, 
and  camp,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  take  observations 
early  the  next  morning. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  I  came  to  the  summit. 
I  could  see  nothing,  of  course,  until  daylight, 
and  I  searched  about  for  a  place  to  camp. 
There  was  a  strong  breeze  blowing  and  the  air 
was  quite  cool,  so  I  found  shelter  behind  a  great 
boulder  and  prepared  to  spend  the  night.  I 
still  had  a  few  yams  with  me,  and  three  turtles' 
eggs,  and  these  I  cooked  and  ate.  I  then  pro- 
ceeded to  make  myself  as  comfortable  as  possible 
by  lying  close  to  the  rock,  and,  having  nothing 
else  to  do,  I  went  to  sleep,  the  long  climb  hav- 
ing wearied  me. 

Once  or  twice  during  the  night  I  awoke  feel- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  107 

ing  very  chilly,  and  I  was  not  sorry  when  the 
first  faint  gleam  of  dawn  appeared. 

The  sun  rose  clear,  but,  to  the  south-east, 
fleecy  clouds  were  scudding  along  toward  the 
land.  In  all  directions,  however,  the  line  of  the 
horizon  was  distinctly  visible,  and  the  peak 
commanded .  a  view  of  the  sea  at  all  points  of 
the  compass,  and  of  the  whole  island. 

I  scanned  the  line  of  sea  and  sky  all  around, 
but  saw  nothing  that  looked  like  land.  A  little 
to  the  south-east  there  was  a  faint,  serrated  line 
against  the  sky,  but  I  concluded  that  it  was  only 
a  cloud. 

As  I  stood  scanning  the  great  rim  of  the 
ocean,  there  came  to  me  a  strong  feeling  that  I 
would  like  to  establish  a  beacon  on  the  summit, 
one,  if  possible,  which  could  be  seen  from  a  ship 
several  miles  at  sea;  and  the  more  I  thought  of 
this  project  the  more  strongly  was  I  convinced 
that  it  would  be  a  wise  thing  to  do ;  for,  in  the 


108  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

event  of  a  ship's  passing  on  this  side  of  the 
island,  a  prominent  structure  on  the  mountain 
might  attract  attention  and  lead  to  my  rescue. 
I  thought  it  all  over  as  I  retraced  my  steps  to 
the  boulder,  and  resolved  to  look  about  for  a 
suitable  place  to  make  a  substantial  shelter 
while  engaged  in  the  work.  I  deemed  it  ad- 
visable to  go  further  down  the  mountain  where 
the  vegetation  was  more  plentiful,  and  where  I 
might  find  fruits,  and  possibly  game — though 
game  did  not  seem  to  be  plentiful,  but  brilliant 
plumaged  birds  were  numerous. 

In  the  edge  of  the  bush  between  the  table 
land  and  the  mountain  peak,  I  discovered  a 
small  grove  of  about  a  dozen  orange  trees,  and 
here  I  at  first  thought  that  I  would  make  my 
camp;  but  a  little  further  to  the  south  I  saw  a 
great  rock,  which  appeared  to  over-hang  several 
feet;  and  the  idea  at  once  struck  me  that  it 
might  be  wise  to  encamp  beneath  its  shelter. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  109 

So,  turning  in  that  direction  I  was  not  long  in 
reaching  the  rock.  It  was  at  the  base  of  a  spur 
of  the  mountain;  and  the  top  not  only  over- 
hung the  base  considerably,  but,  there  was  a 
sort  of  natural  excavation  which  formed  quite  a 
large  cave,  open  on  three  sides,  it  was  true;  but 
here  I  saw  great  possibilities  in  establishing  my 
camp  while  erecting  the  beacon.  Besides,  I 
fully  expected  the  rainy  season  to  set  in  almost 
any  day,  and  should  I  have  to  stay  here  for  sev- 
eral months,  the  rock  would  afford  me  the  best 
of  shelter. 

So,  having  decided  to  make  this  the  base  of 
operations  for  the  present,  I  took  my  bow-gun 
and  set  out  to  forage  for  supplies,  of  which  I 
stood  in  immediate  need. 

I  went  down  among  the  trees  in  the  intervale 
between  the  two  mountains.  The  vegetation 
was  very  luxuriant,  but  not  so  dense  as  in  por- 
tions of  the  lowlands  across  which  I  had  marched. 


110  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  had  noted  that  the  cocoanut  palms  were  less 
plentiful  here,  and  that  there  were  several  other 
kinds  of  palms  that  I  had  not  seen  before.  One 
of  these  had  a  trunk  covered  with  great  sharp 
spines,  and  from  the  grapelike  cluster  of  fruit  at 
the  top  I  knew  it  must  be  an  oil  palm;  but  I 
saw  only  a  few  of  these.  Another  had  a  bottle- 
shaped  head  of  vivid  green  just  below  the  leaves, 
which  I  at  once  recognized  as  the  "mountain 
cabbage,"  or  cabbage  palm.  These  were  very 
plentiful. 

Skirting  the  edge  of  the  bush,  a  short  distance 
to  the  north,  I  turned  to  penetrate  further  to- 
ward the  valley,  when  suddenly,  as  I  took  a  step 
forward,  I  felt  myself  sinking  downward.  I  threw 
down  my  gun  and  tried  to  save  myself  by 
clutehing  the  creepers;  but  I  continued  to  sink 
into  a  mass  of  vines.  I  was  considerably  frightr 
ened,  and  wondered,  for  a  brief  moment,  if  I 
had  fallen  into  the  opening  to  a  cavern;   but 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  Ill 

suddenly  my  feet  touched  solid  earth,  and  I 
found  myself  standing  beside  what  appeared  to 
be  an  old  wall — about  the  height  of  my  shoul- 
der. Pushing  aside  the  creepers  I  saw  that  it 
was  really  a  wall,  built  of  large  stones  and  some 
kind  of  mortar.  I  was  so  astonished  at  the  dis- 
covery that  I  could  scarcely  collect  my  thoughts. 
Looking  around,  I  was  still  more  perplexed,  for 
only  a  few  feet  away  there  was  a  rectangular 
enclosure  which  looked  like  the  ruined  founda- 
tions of  a  house.  I  found  that  the  wall  extended 
for  perhaps  fifty  feet  in  each  direction,  the 
opposite  side  being  flush  with  the  rising  ground 
above.  An  examination  of  the  rectangular  en- 
closure showed  unmistakably  that  it  was  a 
portion  of  the  foundation  of  a  house. 

What  could  this  mean?  It  could  mean  but 
one  thing;  that  people  had  lived  here.  But 
when,  I  could  form  no  opinion;  but  from  the 
appearance  of  the  masonry  it  must  have  been 


112  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

many  years  before.  The  ruins,  as  well  as  the 
wall,  were  thickly  overgrown  with  creepers  and 
other  vegetation. 

Still  further  signs  of  the  former  presence  of 
man  now  attracted  my  attention.  A  great 
plant,  like  an  immense  lily,  with  broad  leaves 
six  or  seven  feet  long  was  growing  near  by  at 
the  edge  of  the  small  clear  area  surrounding  the 
ruins;  and,  on  going  nearer  to  examine  it  I 
quickly  recognized  it  from  the  great  bunch  of 
elongated  fruit  which  hung  from  the  crown  of 
leaves. 

Banana  trees! 

And  there  were  many  of  them  scattered 
around.  Here  was  a  never-ending  supply  of 
food,  of  the  most  nourishing  kind.  I  walked 
around  to  the  south  side  of  the  clearing,  where 
I  found  other  trees,  much  resembling,  in  general 
appearance,  the  banana  trees;  but  the  fruit  was 
much  larger,  and  curved  like  a  scimitar. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  113 

My  reading  of  books  of  tropical  travel  stood 
me  in  good  stead  as  it  aided  me  in  recognizing 
trees  and  fruits  that  proved  of  great  use  to  me. 
This  latter,  I  knew  to  be  the  plantain.  A  still 
further  search  revealed  yams,  and  several  clusters 
of  canes,  much  larger  than  the  largest  corn- 
stalks that  I  had  ever  seen. 

Here  was  another  valuable  discovery — sugar 
cane!  Taking  out  my  knife  I  cut  one  of  the 
canes,  and  was  delighted  to  see  that  it  was  full 
of  limpid  juice.  I  tasted  it  and  found  it  very 
sweet  and  very  refreshing.  I  sucked  several 
joints  of  the  sugar  cane  dry,  and  then  turned  to 
gather  some  of  the  bananas.  The  bunches  were 
rather  small,  but  several  appeared  to  be  quite 
ripe.  I  also  dug  some  of  the  yams,  and  with  a 
sugar  cane  under  one  arm,  my  bow-gun  under 
the  other,  the  yams  and  bananas  in  my  hands,  I 
started  back  to  the  camp.  I  could  not  climb 
the  wall,  loaded  as  I  was,  so  I  set  about  to  go 


114  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

around  the  end  nearest  to  my  cave-dwelling; 
when  I  saw  a  pigeon,  like  one  I  had  shot  near 
the  coast,  fly  up  and  alight  on  the  wall.  As 
quickly  as  I  could  I  laid  down  my  load,  and, 
adjusting  an  arrow  in  the  bow-gun,  took  careful 
aim  and  released  the  string.  Again  my  aim 
was  true,  for  the  arrow  pierced  the  neck  close 
to  the  body.  It  must  have  been  killed  almost 
instantly,  for  it  quickly  ceased  fluttering. 

With  this  addition  to  my  forage,  I  proceeded 
slowly  to  the  camp.  With  food  for  two  days  at 
least,  I  now  began  to  form  plans  for  making 
the  "cave,"  as  I  chose  to  call  it,  habitable.  I 
proposed  to  close  the  two  ends  and  a  portion  of 
the  front,  by  setting  bamboo,  which  I  had  seen 
growing  plentifully  in  the  valley  below,  into  the 
ground,  and  weaving  in  vines.  I  only  intended 
to  make  a  temporary  shelter  against  the  wind, 
and  had  no  idea  of  spending  the  time  and  labor 
that  I  had  on  my  house  on  the  coast. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  115 

It  was  slow  work  cutting  the  bamboos  and 
dragging  them  up  to  the  cave,  and  this  occupied 
me  several  days.  These  had  to  be  cut  into  the 
proper  lengths,  and  set  into  the  ground,  so  that 
the  upper  ends  would  come  firmly  up  against 
the  overhanging  rock.  As  I  worked,  my  plans 
for  the  future  matured,  so  that  I  foresaw  an 
extended  sojourn  here.  The  ultimate  outcome 
was,  that  the  inclosing  walls  of  the  cave  were, 
when  finished,  fully  as  substantial  as  those  of 
my  house  at  "Sargent"  Bay,  as  I  had  re- 
solved to  call  the  place  where  I  had  drifted 
ashore,  in  honor  of  my  late  benefactor.  The 
paling  of  bamboos  was  closely  interwoven  with 
vines,  and  I  constructed  a  door  for  the  front. 
I  now  had  not  only  a  comfortable  but  a  sub- 
stantial dwelling,  which  would  afford  protection 
from  the  wind  and  rain,  no  matter  from  which 
direction  they  came. 

About  every  other  day  I  went  to  the  old  ruins 


116  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

to  procure  bananas  and  yams;  and,  on  these 
trips,  I  shot  several  pigeons  which  proved  to  be 
very  delicate  and  tender.  I  often  roasted  yams, 
and  found  them  to  be  very  hearty  food;  and 
became  very  fond  of  them. 

Frequently,  of  late,  there  had  been  showers 
of  rain,  which  proved  to  me  that  the  rainy  sea- 
son had  set  in.  I  made  frequent  trips  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  and,  each  time,  I  saw  that 
the  peculiar  serrated  line  against  the  sky,  which 
I  at  first  thought  must  be  a  cloud,  had  remained 
stationary.  This  convinced  me  that  it  was  land, 
and  as  it  was  evidently  the  top  of  a  mountain 
range,  it  must  be  a  great  distance  away. 

I  speculated  as  to  what  land  it  would  be.  If 
my  suppositions  were  correct  as  to  the  position 
of  the  island  on  which  I  was  exiled,  from  the 
direction  it  might  be  one  of  the  Virgin  Islands. 
If  so,  the  Leeward  Islands  lay  beyond,  further 
to  the  east  and  south-east. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  117 

My  mind  was  now  filled  with  the  project  of 
erecting  a  substantial  beacon,  one  which  would 
be  seen  from  some  distance  at  sea.  Gradually 
I  evolved  plans  for  the  structure.  The  first  step 
was  to  cut  the  tallest  and  largest  bamboo  which 
I  felt  capable  of  dragging  to  the  peak.  I  found 
one  that  suited  me.  It  was  a  long  tedious  task 
to  cut  it  down  with  my  knife,  but  it  was  finally 
accomplished,  and  I  dragged  it  to  the  front  of 
the  cave. 

It  was  my  intention  to  devise  a  headpiece  to 
fasten  securely  to  the  top  of  the  bamboo  in  order 
to  render  it  as  conspicuous  as  possible.  This 
would  have  to  be  done  before  the  bamboo  was 
raised  and  set  into  the  ground. 

The  daily  showers  became  more  frequent  and 
more  severe,  and  some  days  the  rain  would 
sweep  across  the  mountain  in  perfect  torrents. 
Nevertheless,  I  succeeded  in  cutting  several 
more  bamboos,  of  smaller  size,  and  I  also  brought 


118  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

several  bunches  of  bananas  and  plantains,  and  a 
quantity  of  yams  up  to  the  cave. 

I  now  set  to  work  to  complete  the  beacon. 
Cutting  the  bamboos  to  the  required  lengths,  I 
lashed  them  together  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  gridiron,  eight  feet  long  and  six 
feet  wide.  This  I  filled  in  with  a  basket-work 
of  vines,  woven  very  loosely  that  the  wind  might 
easily  pass  through  it,  to  prevent  its  being  blown 
down  when  raised  to  the  top  of  the  pole. 

At  length  the  beacon  was  finished,  the  grid- 
iron being  firmly  lashed  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
bamboo;  and  I  had  been  on  the  mountain  seven 
weeks.  The  rainy  season  was  well  under  way; 
but  I  worked  during  the  intervals  when  it 
ceased  to  rain,  and,  by  means  of  a  sharpened 
stick,  aided  by  my  knife,  I  dug  a  hole  fully  four 
feet  deep,  on  the  highest  part  of  the  mountain. 
I  found  it  difficult  work  to  raise  the  bamboo 
with  the  gridiron  at  the  top,  and  plant  its  base 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  119 

in  the  hole,  but,  after  many  trials,  I  succeeded, 
after  which  I  wedged  it  firmly  with  stones  and 
earth  solidly  packed. 

It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  leave  camp 
while  the  rain  continued,  and  I  had  fully  recon- 
ciled myself  to  remain  until  the  close  of  the 
rainy  season;  and  I  hoped  that  I  could  find 
enough  to  do  to  occupy  the  time.  I  was 
obliged  to  go  frequently  in  quest  of  food,  and  I 
set  about  preparing  a  brief  account  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  my  exile  in  the  island,  the  date  of 
the  wreck  and  the  date  of  the  raising  of  the 
beacon;  also,  explicit  directions  for  finding 
"Sargent"  Bay,  where  my  house  stood.  This 
was  carved  in  deep  letters  around  the  smooth 
surface  of  a  large  section  of  bamboo,  like  a 
Chinese  prayer  cylinder.  This  was  fastened  to 
the  bamboo  signal  pole,  a  few  feet  from  the 
ground,  to  guide  anyone  who  might  chance  to 
notice  the  beacon  and  investigate  its  meaning, 
to  my  rescue. 


120  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  made  a  coat  and  kilt  reaching  to  the  knees, 
from  cocoanut  cloth.  The  coat  was  without 
sleeves,  but  it  would  save  my  only  shirt,  and  the 
kilt  would  prove  a  great  protection  to  my 
trousers,  which  were  already  showing  signs  of 
hard  usage.  These  garments  were  sewn  together 
with  fibres  of  vines,  a  long,  sharp  thorn  being 
used  as  a  needle.  I  also  made  a  new  hat,  of 
more  skillful  workmanship  than  the  first,  which 
I  had  worn  until  the  present  time. 

Twice,  each  day,  I  went  up  to  the  beacon  to 
scan  the  horizon.  I  saw  no  vessels,  but  the  dis- 
tant, faint  outline  of  mountains  remained  in 
sight.  This  position  commanded  a  view  of  the 
entire  island,  and  I  studied  it  with  interest.  It 
was  nearly  circular  in  shape,  and  I  calculated 
that  it  was  not  over  forty  miles  in  diameter.  I 
had  thought  seriously  of  descending  to  the  eastr 
ern  slope  of  the  mountains,  and  exploring  the 
small  portion  which  had  not   come,  thus  far, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  121 

within  my  projected  route.  This  belt  of  coun- 
try, between  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and  the 
sea,  seemed,  from  my  elevated  position,  to  be 
very  flat,  and  more  sparsely  wooded  than  the 
other  side  of  the  mountain ;  but  the  question  of 
its  being  inhabited  was  settled  by  the  torrents  of 
rain,  for,  for  miles  to  the  east  and  south-east  the 
country  was  under  water. 

The  rain  had  apparently  been  the  heaviest  on 
the  east  side  of  the  island,  for  none  of  the  west 
side  was  inundated,  as  far  as  I  could  discern;  but 
the  stream,  along  whose  banks  I  had  marched 
from  the  coast,  was  swollen  to  the  size  of  a  great 
river. 

After  I  had  made  the  clothing,  I  searched  the 
edge  of  the  bush  until  I  found  some  wild  canes, 
growing  by  a  swampy  place,  from  which  I  made 
a  supply  of  arrows.  Frequently  I  shot  a  pigeon, 
the  birds  apparently  being  driven  into  the  open 
by  the  rain.     One  day  when  I  went  to  procure 


122  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

a  fresh  supply  of  bananas,  as  I  extended  one 
hand  to  cut  off  a  bunch,  I  sprang  back  and 
quickly  retired  several  rods.  The  cause  of  my 
precipitate  flight  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
a  great  yellow  snake,  exactly  like  my  unwelcome 
companion  on  the  coast.  It  was  coiled  among 
the  leaf  stems  of  the  banana  tree.  I  did  not 
disturb  it,  not  feeling  particularly  curious  as  to 
its  disposition  under  the  present  circumstances; 
and  the  next  time  I  came  it  was  gone.  I  named 
it  the  "banana  snake,"  in  commemoration  of 
the  latter  incident,  and  because  of  its  color, 
which  was  nearly  that  of  a  ripe  banana. 

The  nights,  at  this  elevation,  and  during  the 
rain,  were  cold,  but  the  cave  was  quite  comfort- 
able, and  I  built  a  small  fire  just  inside  the  door 
each  night,  to  drive  out  the  dampness ;  having, 
from  time  to  time  before  the  rain  became  too 
constant,  filled  all  the  available  space  in  the 
cave  with  dry  wood,  only  reserving  enough 
room  to  lie  down  to  sleep. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  123 

The  weeks  passed,  rather  tediously  after  I 
could  think  of  but  little  to  do,  but  the  rain  was 
not  so  steady  and,  almost  every  day,  there  were 
several  hours  when  it  entirely  ceased  to  fall. 
There  being  only  short  grass  around  the  top  of 
the  mountain,  I  utilized  these  intervals  of  the 
cessation  of  rain  by  exploring  the  mountain  to 
the  line  of  the  bush,  all  around.  There  was 
nothing  but  rocks,  with  occasionally  a  few  small 
shrubs.  But  one  day  I  made  an  interesting 
discovery.  Nearly  down  to  the  line  of  the 
bush  on  the  opposite  side  from  my  camp,  I  came 
across  a  similar  over-hanging  rock;  but  on  go- 
ing under  it,  I  perceived  a  large  crevice,  which, 
on  close  examination,  I  found  extended  into  the 
mountain  for  some  distance.  I  had  my  tinder 
and  flint  with  me  and,  gathering  a  few  dry 
leaves  and  sticks  that  lay  around  near  the  open- 
ing, I  made  a  fire  at  the  entrance.  By  its  light 
I  could  see  that  I  had  found  the  entrance  to  a 


124  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

cavern,  but  I  could  see  only  a  few  feet  from  the 
mouth.  The  walls  were  dark  and  the  top  of 
the  cavern  was  not  more  than  four  feet  from 
the  floor.  I  determined  to  still  further  explore 
it  with  a  torch. 

For  a  week  I  did  not  again  go  near  the 
cavern,  but  made  daily  trips  to  the  beacon  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  observations,  but  all  the 
time  I  was  trying  to  invent  a  torch.  Nothing 
suitable  for  the  purpose,  which  would  burn  for 
any  length  of  time,  suggested  itself  to  me, 
until,  one  morning,  while  at  the  ruins  for  yams 
and  fruit,  I  saw  some  ripe  cocoanuts  on  the 
ground. 

"Why  not  use  the  oily  kernel  of  the  nut?" 
I  at  once  proceeded  to  act  upon  this  sugges- 
tion. Taking  a  couple  of  nuts  to  the  camp,  I 
split  them  in  halves,  fastening  one  into  a  split 
stick,  making  a  sort  of  ladle.  Hastening  to  the 
cavern  on  the  other  side   of   the   mountain,  I 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  125 

made  a  little  fire  at  the  end  of  the  stick,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  soon  seeing  the  oily 
meat  of  the  nut  blaze  up  in  a  steady,  yellowish 
flame.  Watching  it  for  a  moment,  I  saw  that 
the  meat  charred  very  slowly,  while  the  oil  was 
tried  out  by  the  heat  to  feed  the  flame. 

Taking  the  torch  and  the  spare  nuts  with 
which  to  replenish  the  torch,  I  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  cavern.  I  was  both  surprised 
and  disappointed,  for  it  was  neither  beautiful 
nor  grand.  The  roof  was  low,  and  the  walls 
were  dirty  and  grimy.  The  cavern  was  not 
more  than  six  feet  wide  and  four  feet  high,  and 
I  was  obliged  to  stoop  as  I  moved  along.  The 
cave  took  me  straight  into  the  mountain  for  a 
few  rods,  when  I  came  to  what  appeared  at  first 
to  be  the  end;  but  I  soon  discovered  a  small 
opening  a  little  to  my  right,  through  which, 
after  hesitating  a  little,  I  crawled  on  my  hands 
and  knees.     I  went  but  a  few  feet  before   I 


126  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

emerged  into  a  chamber  of  considerable  size, 
where  I  could  stand  erect;  and  here  I  was 
greeted  by  a  cloud  of  bats  that  flitted  about  as 
though  bewildered  by  the  light,  their  wings 
making  a  curious,  uncanny  fluttering  sound.  I 
could  see  the  roof  plainly,  and  clinging  to  it,  with 
their  heads  downward,  were  thousands  of  bats. 
There  were,  depending  from  the  ceiling,  a  few 
small  stalactites,  but  they  were  dark  and  grimy. 
I  examined  the  floor  of  the  cavern,  which  re- 
vealed to  me  its  true  nature.  I  was  in  a  guano 
cave,  the  floor  of  which  was  thickly  covered 
with  the  guano  of  the  bats,  the  accumulation  of 
centuries,  probably. 

"What  a  fortune  there  is  here,"  I  thought, 
"if  all  this  guano  could  be  cheaply  conveyed  to 
the  coast  and  loaded  into  vessels." 

Although  the  air  in  the  cave  seemed  to  be 
pure,  it  was  not  a  pleasant  place,  and  most  un- 
attractive; so,  after  discovering  a  small  passage, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  127 

like  the  one  I  had  just  crawled  through,  leading 
further  into  the  mountain,  I  retreated  toward 
the  entrance  and  was  soon  in  daylight,  feeling 
no  desire  to  further  explore  a  cavern  devoid  of 
all  the  beauties  usually  attributed  to  such  nat- 
ural  phenomena. 

The  days  dragged  now,  as  I  waited  for  the 
weather  to  clear,  with  nothing  to  break  the 
monotony  but  occasional  trips  to  the  ruins  for. 
yams,  oranges,  plantains,  bananas  and  sugar 
cane;  and  sometimes  I  would  stalk  pigeons, 
when  my  bow-gun  proved  very  effective,  espe- 
cially as  I  every  day  became  more  skillful  in 
using  it,  while  the  birds  suffered  in  consequence. 

Several  times  each  day  I  went  to  the  beacon 
to  scan  the  horizon;  but  I  saw  no  sign  of  a 
vessel.  I  reasoned  that  my  island  must  be  out 
of  the  regular  track  of  vessels  going  to  the 
Windward  or  Leeward  Islands,  as  I  knew  it  to 
be,  of  ships  bound  to  the  South  American  coast, 


128  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Central  America  or  any  of  the  large  West  India 
Islands.  Bnt  the  far  distant  mountains  still 
showed  plainly  against  the  horizon. 

While  gazing  away  toward  the  east  one  day, 
the  idea  came  to  me  to  try  to  construct  a  boat, 
on  my  return  to  my  house  on  the  coast,  in 
which  to  attempt  to  reach  the  distant  land.  I 
was  not  skilled  in  sailing  a  boat,  but  I  reasoned 
that,  with  a  fairly  staunch  and  steady  craft,  pro- 
vided with  some  sort  of  a  sail,  I  might,  when  a 
long  period  of  fair  weather  was  promised,  escape 
to  the  land  which  I  dimly  saw  to  the  eastward. 
This  plan  occupied  my  mind  continually  for 
days,  and,  so  seriously  did  I  begin  to  consider 
it,  that  I  became  extremely  impatient  to  start 
away  for  the  coast. 

Three  weeks  more  of  weary  waiting,  and  the 
rain  ceased  to  fall  steadily,  and  then  the  sun 
began  to  break  through  the  clouds  at  intervals, 
but  the  showers  were  still  frequent.     From  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  129 

beacon  I  could  see  that  the  floods  in  the  low- 
lands to  the  east  were  subsiding,  and  that  the 
river  along  which  I  had  traveled  from  the  coast, 
was  assuming  its  normal  proportions. 

Gradually  the  clouds  dispersed,  and  whole 
days  of  bright  sunshine  followed.  The  rainy 
season  was  drawing  to  a  close.  A  few  days  of 
clear  weather  would  dry  the  ground  and  the 
bush  so  I  would  be  able  to  set  out  for  the 
coast. 

I  felt  a  pang  of  regret  at  the  thought  of  leav- 
ing my  home  under  the  cliff;  but  then,  perhaps 
I  might  come  back.  I  could  not  tell.  Perhaps 
I  should  have  to  give  up  the  idea  of  building 
the  boat,  and  then  it  might  be  years  before  I 
was  rescued.  I  might,  indeed,  spend  my  entire 
life  here  alone;  but  this  thought  I  put  away 
from  me. 

My  preparations  for  leaving  the  mountain 
were  easily  made.     I  left  the  house  under  the 


130  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

cliff  exactly  as  it  was,  save  the  closing,  securely, 
of  the  door;  and  one  morning  as  the  sun  came 
up  out  of  the  sea,  and  the  lovely  island  verdure 
lit  up  with  a  gorgeous  blending  of  green,  purple 
and  gold,  I  took  a  farewell  look  all  around  the 
horizon  from  the  peak,  and,  with  my  gun, 
arrows  and  bag  of  provisions,  dressed  in  the 
rudely  made  cocoanutrdoth  garments,  I  started 
down  the  mountain,  taking,  as  nearly  as  I  could, 
a  northeast  course  toward  the  coast. 

The  ground  was  yet  sufficiently  damp  to 
render  it  pleasantly  springy  and  cool  to  my 
feet,  and  the  freshness  of  the  verdure  of  the 
forest  and  bush  which  I  traversed  imparted  to 
the  air  a  pleasant  coolness,  even  though  the 
sun  shone  fierce  and  hot.  Birds  were  flitting 
like  irridescent  gems  through  the  trees,  and 
uttering  curious  discordant  cries.  Not  since 
the  beginning  of  my  exile  had  I  been  conscious 
of  such  cheerfulness  and  light-heartedness  as  on 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  131 

this  morning — and,  with  all,  I  had  the  feeling 
of  going  home,  as,  indeed,  I  was. 

Crossing  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
mountain  peak,  I  ascended  the  lower  spur  and 
descended  its  side  toward  the  level  country 
which  lay  between  it  and  the  coast.  In  general 
appearance,  the  bush  here  did  not  materially 
differ  from  that  to  the  southwest,  traversed 
during  my  march  from  the  coast  months  before. 

Shortly  after  entering  the  belt  of  virgin  forest 
which  skirted  the  base  of  the  mountain  range, 
I  emerged  into  an  opening,  perhaps  two  acres 
in  extent.  It  was  covered  with  thick  grass, 
green  and  luxuriant  after  the  rains.  The  grass 
was  not  tall,  perhaps  two  feet  high,  apparently 
a  new  growth,  and  I  started  to  cross  it.  A  tall 
cactus,  a  veritable  tree,  stood  alone  near  the 
centre  of  the  grassland,  and  toward  this  I  took 
my  way,  thinking  that  I  would  like  to  examine 
it  closely,  as  it  was  the  largest  one  I  had  seen 
on  the  island. 


132  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

After  examining  this  giant  of  the  tropics,  I 
continued  my  way  across  the  intervening  space 
toward  the  bush  on  the  other  side.  I  was  nearly 
out  of  the  grass,  when  a  strange  sound  caused 
me  to  stand  still  and  look  about  me. 

The  sound  came  in  a  series  of  short,  angry 
grunts,  like  "woof!  woof!"  and,  a  short  distance 
to  the  left  I  saw  the  grass  violently  agitated, 
while  the  noise  came  nearer  to  me. 

I  at  once  decided  that  some  animal  was  com- 
ing toward  me,  whether  to  attack  me  or  not,  I 
could  not  tell.  But  I  quickly  decided  that  the 
most  sensible  thing  for  me  to  do  would  be  to 
seek  safety.  Naturally  I  thought  of  the  bush, 
and  ran  toward  it.  The  moment  I  started  to 
run  the  "woof,  woof!"  followed  me,  and  I  in- 
creased my  speed  as  fast  as  I  could,  hampered 
as  I  was  by  the  thick  grass.  The  terrible, 
gutteral  sound  gained  upon  me  as  I  plunged 
on,  but  at  last  I  reached  the  bush,  and,  seeing  a 


Encounter  with  wild  pigs. 


Page  132. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  133 

large  tree  with  branches  near  the  ground,  just 
ahead  of  me,  I  dropped  my  gun  and  bag  of  pro- 
visions, and  grasped  the  lower  limb.  Quickly 
I  climbed  up  to  what  I  considered  to  be  a  safe 
distance,  and  then  looked  down  to  see  what  sort 
of  a  beast  my  pursuer  would  prove  to  be. 

I  had  but  a  second  or  two  to  wait,  for  soon, 
not  one  but  three  shot  out  of  the  grass  and 
rushed  to  the  foot  of  the  tree.  I  could  not 
mistake    them.      They   were   pigs,   wild    pigs. 

They  looked  up  at  me  with  little,  cruel  looking 
eyes,  and  one,  the  largest,  which  had  probably 
led  the  chase,  snapped  his  jaws,  showing  long, 
white  tusks,  ran  around  the  tree  and  continued 
the  "woof,  woof!"  throwing  up  his  head  and,  as 
he  apparently  grew  more  angry  because  I  was 
above  his  reach,  flecks  of  foam  were  flung  from 
the  ugly  jaws.  This  one  was,  without  a  doubt, 
the  boar.  The  other  two  were  smaller,  and 
seemed  to  be  taking  matters  more  coolly. 


134  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

They  were  villainous-looking  beasts,  gaunt, 
with  long  legs  and  sharp,  pointed  heads;  and 
their  color  was  a  sort  of  rusty-red.  Feeling 
perfectly  safe,  the  question  which  naturally  first 
occurred  to  me  was,  ahow  long  shall  I  be  be- 
sieged in  this  position?"  There  seemed  to  be 
but  one  course  to  follow,  at  present,  and  that 
to  await  developments.  The  pigs  had  not  ap- 
peared to  notice  my  paraphernalia. 

After  a  while  the  boar  grew  calmer,  and 
finally  all  three  lay  down  near  the  foot  of  the 
tree.  I  made  myself  as  comfortable  as  possible, 
and  looked  down  at  them. 

The  day  dragged  along  monotonously,  while 
I  was  able  to  change  my  position  so  frequently 
that  I  was  not  cramped;  but  I  began  to  get  very 
hungry,  having  eaten  nothing  since  early  in  the 
morning.  The  pigs  continued  to  remain  on 
guard,  the  boar  now  and  then  getting  up  and 
regarding   me   contemplatively,   until   the  sun 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  135 

sank  behind  the  forest.  Then  the  pigs  moved 
away  into  the  grass.  It  was  soon  dark,  and  the 
moon,  which  was  near  its  full,  came  up  over  the 
mountains;  but  I  was  not  long  able  to  distin- 
guish the  movements  of  the  pigs  in  the  uncer- 
tain moonlight. 

Patiently  I  waited,  until  the  moon  was  di- 
rectly over  the  clearing.  There  was  no  sound 
of  the  pigs,  and,  after  a  little,  I  slid  to  the 
ground  and,  cautiously  gathering  up  my  gun 
and  provision  bag,  moved  noiselessly  away  into 
the  bush.  The  moonlight  favored  me,  and  I 
hurried  on  for  several  miles,  when  I  was  brought 
to  a  halt  by  a  small  stream.  Feeling  safe  from 
the  pigs,  I  decided  to  camp  here  until  daylight. 
I  did  not  dare  make  a  fire,  so,  after  satisfying 
hunger  with  a  portion  of  a  pigeon  which  I  had 
roasted  before  setting  out,  and  an  orange,  I  sat 
down  by  a  large  tree  and,  leaning  against  the 
trunk,  was  soon  asleep. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

Return  to  the  Coast;  A  Mangrove  Swamp  ;  Fever. 

When  I  awoke  it  was  morning,  and  the  sun 
was  fully  an  hour  up.  Taking  a  hasty  bath  in 
the  cool  water  of  the  stream,  and  after  a  hurried 
meal,  crossing  the  stream  on  the  stones  that 
were  not  submerged,  I  set  off  along  the  east 
bank.  The  stream  flowed  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion. By  keeping  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
forest  I  made  rapid  progress.  Nothing  occurred 
to  distract  my  attention,  except  the  sight  of  a 
small  flock  of  pigeons,  one  of  which  I  killed.  I 
encamped  for  the  night  in  the  edge  of  a  thicket, 
and  made  a  fire  to  roast  the  bird  which  I  plucked 
while  waiting  for  a  bed  of  coals. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  137 

At  daylight  in  the  morning  I  continued  my 
course  down  the  stream  which  was  now  much 
wider  and  deeper.  Its  edge  was  thickly  fringed 
with  bamboo,  and  the  idea  came  to  me  that  I 
might  construct  a  raft  from  them,  and  float 
down  stream  to  the  coast;  but  then,  the  stream 
was  apt  to  become  suddenly  shallow  in  places, 
and  it  contained  many  large  stones,  and  after 
delaying  for  several  days  while  constructing  the 
raft,  it  might  prove  to  be  time  and  labor  lost. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourth  day,  as  the  sun  was 
declining  behind  the  palm  trees,  I  was  astonished, 
on  emerging  from  a  thicket,  to  see  the  ocean, 
blue  and  calm,  stretching  out  before  me.  I  had 
failed  to  note  the  fact  that  I  had  followed  a 
more  direct  course  from  the  coast  than  when  I 
marched  toward  the  interior,  and  that  the  moun- 
tains were  much  nearer  the  north  coast  than  the 
west.  For  the  last  two  days  I  had  noticed  that 
the  cocoanut  palms  were  more  plentiful,  as  were 


138  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

also  the  bamboos  along  the  stream,  both  of 
which  should  have  reminded  me  of  my  approach 
to  salt  water.  I  had  reached  the  coast  sooner 
than  I  expected. 

Knowing  that  I  would  probably  not  be  able 
to  cross  the  stream  at  its  mouth,  I  found  a  place 
where  a  few  stones  rose  above  the  water,  and 
managed  to  cross  to  the  other  bank.  The 
mouth  of  this  stream  differed  from  that  of  either 
of  the  other  two  streams  that  I  had  seen.  It 
was  broad  and  muddy,  covering  a  wide  expanse, 
and  what  seemed  the  strangest  to  me  was  that 
trees  were  growing  from  the  water,  covering  the 
entire  area  of  the  mouth  of  the  stream.  Each 
tree  rested  upon  the  apex  formed  by  a  cluster 
of  roots,  which  rose  from  the  water,  looking  like 
gigantic  spiders  or  devil-fish.  I  could  see 
under  the  whole  aquatic  forest,  a  tangle  of  slimy 
roots  above  the  dark  water.  The  air  was  per- 
meated by  an  indescribable  stench;  and  around 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  130 

the  edge  of  the  dark  recess,  black,  hairy  crabs 
crawled  about,  or  lay  by  the  festering  pools.  I 
concluded  that  this  was  one  of  the  famous  man- 
grove swamps,  and  I  decided  to  retire  from  such 
an  undesirable  locality. 

Accordingly  I  proceeded  along  the  beach  un- 
til I  was  free  from  the  smell  of  the  swamp, 
where  I  made  camp  for  the  night  beneath  some 
spreading  trees  near  the  water's  edge,  making  a 
fire  and  roasting  yams,  and  broiling  a  pigeon 
which  I  had  killed  just  after  crossing  the  stream. 

When  I  awoke  in  the  morning  I  felt  that  a 
change  had  come  over  me.  I  felt  dazed,  the 
back  of  my  head  was  aching,  and  I  had  a  burn- 
ing fever.  After  a  few  moments  I  remembered 
the  swamp.  The  air  which  I  had  been  breath- 
ing must  be  laden  with  fever.  I  staggered  to 
my  feet  and,  without  stopping  to  get  breakfast, 
I  started  along  the  beach,  my  course  now  being 
toward  the  west. 


140  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  felt  very  weak  and  walked  with  great  diffi- 
culty. I  was  obliged  to  stop  frequently  to  rest, 
and  toward  mid-day  I  managed  to  eat  the  re- 
mainder of  the  pigeon  that  I  had  broiled  the 
night  before.  Once  I  saw  some  orange  trees, 
but  the  fruit  was  both  sour  and  bitter.  I  sucked 
some  of  the  juice,  however.  The  bitter  and 
the  acid  seemed  to  allay  my  fever  a  little,  and  I 
soon  felt  less  weak.  I  camped  at  sundown,  and 
went  to  sleep  with  confidence  that  my  condition 
would  be  improved  in  the  morning,  as  I  was  at 
a  safe  distance  from  the  swamp. 

For  two  days  more  I  marched  along  the 
shore,  finding  sweet  orange-trees  freqently,  and 
plenty  of  pigeons  whenever  I  chose  to  make  a 
short  detour  into  the  forest. 

At  last  a  high  mound  appeared  ahead  where 
the  shore  seemed  to  take  a  sharp  sweep  toward 
the  south,  and,  hurrying  forward,  I  was  soon 
standing  at  the  top  of  it  and,  to  my  great  joy, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  141 

looking  down  upon  the  bay  where  I  had  been 
cast  ashore. 

Crossing  the  familiar  little  stream,  I  hastened 
toward  my  house.  It  was  with  a  feeling  of  re- 
lief that  I  saw  that  everything  was  apparently 
as  I  had  left  it. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  Feathered  Companion  ;  Making  a  Fish-Trap. 

Everything  about  my  house  was  as  I  had  left 
it.  Nothing  had  been  disturbed,  the  overflow- 
ing stream  not  having  reached  it.  The  vines 
around  the  stockade  now  completely  covered  it, 
and  the  yams  that  I  had  planted  in  front  of  the 
stockade-gate  were  thick  and  luxuriant,  the 
great,  bean-like  leaves  completely  concealing 
the  entrance. 

The  effects  of  the  fever  were  fast  leaving 
me,  and  I  grew  strong  rapidly.  There  was 
much  to  do,  now  that  I  was  settled  down  at 
home.     I   dug   up   the   yams   in   front  of   the 

142 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  143 

stockade-gate  and  stored  them  in  the  house  for 
future  use.  Then  I  carried  out  the  couch  and 
made  a  new  one  of  fresh  branches  and  grass, 
more  comfortable  than  the  first  had  been. 

I  also  made  two  fire-places,  mere  enclosures 
for  keeping  the  coals  in  place.  These  consisted 
of  circular  enclosures  of  stones  brought  from 
the  stream,  each  about  three  feet  in  diameter 
and  one  foot  high,  one  being  in  a  corner  of  the 
house  for  use  during  rainy  weather,  and  the 
other  in  the  enclosure  of  the  stockade,  near  the 
gate. 

My  next  thought  was  to  plant  yams  by  the 
trunks  of  all  the  trees  near  the  house.  This 
would  furnish  me  an  inexhaustible  supply,  and 
of  a  superior  quality,  as  the  vines  would  have 
plenty  of  chance  to  climb,  up  and  around  the 
tree  trunks. 

One  day  while  walking  through  the  bush  in 
search  of  pigeons,  having  succeeded  in  killing 


144  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

two,  I  came  across  several  cocoanut  palms  of 
much  smaller  size  than  any  I  had  yet  seen. 
They  were  not  more  than  fifteen  feet  high  to 
the  base  of  the  leaf  heads,  and  their  tops  were 
very  spreading,  much  more  so  in  proportion  to 
the  length  of  the  trunks  than  in  the  case  of  the 
larger  trees.  But  these  all  bore  great  bunches 
of  nuts,  and  I  began  to  wonder  how  the  unripe 
nuts  would  taste,  and  whether  they  contained 
more  water  than  the  ripe  ones. 

With  but  little  difficulty  I  climbed  one  of 
them,  and  with  my  knife  clipped  the  stems  of 
several  of  the  nuts,  which  went  tumbling  to  the 
ground. 

Descending,  I  cut  off  the  husk  of  the  end 
opposite  the  stem,  until  I  could  make  a  hole 
through  the  shell.  The  latter  was  very  thin 
and  soft,  and  the  knife  went  through  it  easily. 
My  knife  was  always  in  excellent  condition, 
kept  so  by  frequent  sharpening  on  the  stone 
which  I  used  for  striking  fire  to  the  tinder. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  145 

Raising  the  nut  as  though  it  were  a  canteen, 
I  drank  the  water.  It  was  somewhat  different 
from  that  of  a  ripe  nut,  much  sweeter,  more 
limpid  and  very  cool  and  refreshing.  After  the 
water  was  drained  from  the  nut  I  cut  it  open,  when 
I  found  the  whole  inside  lined  with  a  whitish, 
translucent  pulp,  of  the  consistency  of  solid 
jelly.  This  I  found  to  be  delicious,  but,  after 
having  eaten  a  little,  rather  sickish.  However, 
I  carried  several  of  the  unripe  nuts  to  the 
house,  and  soon  became  very  fond  of  them.  I 
made  frequent  trips  to  the  young  palms  and  the 
water  became  my  principal  beverage,  while  my 
only  dessert  was  the  jelly,  for  which  I  carved  a 
rude  spoon  from  a  piece  of  hard  wood. 

I  noticed  that  the  parrots  were  not  so  noisy 
as  they  had  been  before  I  left  for  the  interior, 
and  for  several  weeks  I  was  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  it.  But  one  evening,  while  returning  from 
the  water-cocoanut  palms,  I  espied  two  diminu- 


146  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

tive  parrots  fluttering  through  the  bush.  They 
were  young  ones  and  not  quite  able  to  fly, 
though  nearly  fledged.  They  would  launch  out 
from  a  limb,  sometimes  falling  short  of  their 
next  perch,  and  sometimes  striking  against  a 
limb,  when  they  would  flutter  to  the  ground, 
making  small,  parro1>like  cries.  They  were  a 
beautiful  green,  with  red  wing  feathers  and  red 
breasts  and  necks.  The  parent  birds  all  the 
while  remained  near-by,  as  though  encouraging 
the  little  ones  in  their  attempts  to  fly. 

I  tried  to  catch  one  of  them,  but  they  were 
sufficiently  active  to  evade  me  successfully.  I 
felt  a  great  desire  to  capture  one  and  teach  him 
to  talk,  for  I  sometimes  longed  for  a  companion 
to  speak  to.  Finally  I  evolved  a  plan  for  catch- 
ing one.  I  set  to  work  to  construct  a  net,  for  a 
snare  would  injure  them.  I  prepared  a  great 
quantity  of  fibres  from  the  cocoanut  cloth,  and 
with  it  wove  a  purse-shaped  net,  perhaps  two 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  147 

feet  in  length.  This  was  to  be  suspended  to  a 
limb  of  a  tree,  and  baited  with  a  piece  of  roast 
yam  suspended  over  the  mouth  of  the  bag  in 
such  a  manner  that,  when  the  young  parrot 
reached  for  it,  he  would  be  almost  sure  to  lose 
his  balance  and  fall  in.  Its  weight,  together 
with  the  fluttering  of  the  bird,  would  draw  the 
mouth  of  the  bag  together  and  prevent  its 
escape. 

This  net  cost  me  several  weeks  of  work,  but 
it  was  at  last  finished  and  ready  to  set.  This  I 
did  very  carefully,  selecting  a  low  limb  in  what 
seemed  a  favorite  place  for  the  parent  birds  to 
give  flying  lessons  to  the  little  ones. 

For  several  days  the  net  remained  undisturbed, 
and  every  morning  I  supplied  it  with  a  fresh, 
white  piece  of  yam. 

One  morning,  just  at  daylight,  I  was  awak- 
ened by  a  great  outcry  of  parrots,  and,  feeling 
sure  that  one  of  the  young  birds  had  fallen  into 


148  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

the  net,  I  hastened  toward  it.  Sure  enough, 
the  net  had  done  its  work,  for  it  was  bobbing 
about  and  swaying  from  the  limb,  while  muffled 
little  shrieks  came  from  the  nearly-closed 
mouth;  and  from  the  trees  around  there  arose 
a  perfect  babel  of  discordant  cries  of  parrots, 
old  and  young.  The  two  parent  birds  were 
perched  on  the  limb  over  the  net,  when  I 
arrived,  but  on  my  approach  they  flew  away  a 
short  distance,  hurling  cries  of  defiance  at  me. 
Carefully  I  cut  the  net  clear  of  the  limb  and 
carried  it  to  the  house,  the  belligerent  little 
parrot  all  the  time  fluttering  and  shrieking, 
and  striking  at  my  hand  whenever  it  was  near 
the  opening.  I  reproached  myself  for  not 
thinking  to  make  a  cage  for  it  when  captured, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  secure  the  opening  and 
deposit  the  net  in  the  house,  while  I  made  a 
cage  for  my  future  companion.  This  was  not  a 
difficult  task.     Going  to  the  brook  where  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  149 

wild  canes  grew,  I  cut  a  quantity  of  them  and, 
cutting  them  to  the  required  length,  I  stuck 
them  into  the  ground,  leaving  spaces  about  two 
inches  wide.  The  canes  formed  a  small  yard 
about  two  feet  square.  The  top  was  covered 
with  a  piece  of  cocoanut  cloth,  the  edges  being 
tied  all  around  to  the  upright  canes. 

How  to  get  the  fighting  little  bird  out  of  the 
net  and  into  the  cage  was  the  next  question.  I 
did  not  exactly  relish  the  idea  of  putting  my 
hand  into  the  net,  so  finally  I  decided  to  lift  one 
corner  of  the  cocoanut  cloth  on  the  top  of  the 
cage,  and,  loosening  the  mouth  of  the  net,  insert 
it  under  the  cloth,  at  the  same  time  reversing 
the  net.  The  scheme  worked  perfectly  and  the 
little  parrot  tumbled  into  the  cage,  his  feathers 
all  ruffled.  He  was  a  curious  little  thing  and  I 
laughed  aloud  as,  without  uttering  a  sound,  he 
proceeded  to  smooth  his  feathers,  and  then  to 
circumnavigate  the  cage.     He  then  retired  a 


150  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

little  from  the  bars  and  regarded  me  with  the 
utmost  seriousness,  canting  his  head,  looking  at 
me  first  with  one  eye  and  then  the  other.  Then 
he  began  to  dress  his  feathers,  evidently  re- 
solved to  make  the  best  of  it  all,  and  to  feel 
perfectly  at  home  from  the  first. 

I  made  my  pet  a  little  run-way  outside  the 
wall  of  the  house,  constructing  it  in  the  same 
manner  as  I  had  the  cage,  covering  it  half  with 
cloth  and  the  remainder  with  canes  so  he  could 
have  both  sun  and  shade.  This  enclosure  I 
connected  with  the  cage  by  cutting  a  square 
hole  through  the  wall  of  the  house. 

As  the  weeks  passed,  the  parrot  grew,  his 
wing  and  tail  feathers  developed,  and  he  became 
very  beautiful.  He  enjoyed  his  new  home,  ap- 
parently, spending  a  part  of  his  time  outside, 
and  part  inside.  He  enjoyed  the  sunshine,  but 
would  never  remain  long  in  it.  He  preferred 
the  shade  of  the  cloth  covered  portion.     Nights, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  151 

he  always  passed  inside,  and  I  made  a  perch  for 
him  to  sleep  on.  It  was  simply  a  cane  passing 
through  the  cage  and  securely  fastened  to  a  bar 
on  each  side.  Hours  and  hours  he  would  spend, 
swinging  on  this  bar  over  and  over,  holding  on 
with  his  claws,  and  then  with  his  stubby  beak. 
I  fed  him  on  yams,  bananas  and  oranges,  but 
the  banana  was  his  favorite  food. 

Every  day  I  talked  to  him,  telling  him  all 
about  the  ship-wreck,  discussing  with  him  the 
various  tasks  that  occupied  me,  and  the  proba- 
bility of  my  rescue.  I  named  him  Puff  Ball  on 
account  of  his  shape  when  captured,  and  then  I 
called  him  simply  "Puff."  Puff  listened  pa- 
tiently to  all  I  had  to  say,  frequently  interject- 
ing a  sharp  comment.  Sometimes  he  would 
interrupt  me  by  setting  up  a  loud  screeching, 
and  I  always  had  to  cease  talking  when  Puff 
had  the  floor. 

For  weeks  he  did  not  appear  to  attempt  to 


152  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

imitate  my  words,  and  I  began  to  despair  of 
teaching  him  to  talk,  when  one  morning,  as  I 
lay  awake  for  a  few  minutes  before  arising,  I 
heard  him  softly  chattering  to  himself.  I  lis- 
tened and  heard  him  say  "Puff,"  "Puff,"  very 
distinctly.  I  was  delighted  and,  going  to  the 
cage,  I  complimented  him  on  his  first  attempt. 

Once  while  bathing  in  the  stream,  I  noticed, 
for  the  first  time,  several  fish  gliding  through  a 
quiet  pool.  From  the  momentary  glance  I  had 
of  them  they  appeared  to  resemble  the  white 
perch  of  the  lakes  at  home. 

This  opportunity  to  add  to  my  larder  could 
not  be  neglected,  and  I  set  to  work  to  devise 
a  plan  for  capturing  them.  I  thought,  at  first, 
of  making  a  hook  from  thorns;  but  this  idea 
was  abandoned  as  not  apt  to  be  practical,  and  I 
hit  upon  a  plan  for  making  a  net.  The  first 
inspiration  gradually  developed  into  a  trap,  and 
took  definite  shape  as  I  revolved  the  matter  in 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  153 

my  mind.     It  was  a  simple  device,  but  I  spent 
much  time  and  patience  in  perfecting  it. 

First  selecting  one  of  the  supple  vines,  about 
half  an  inch  in  thickness,  I  bent  it  into  the  form 
of  a  hoop,  two  feet  in  diameter,  uniting  the 
two  ends  by  lashing  them  with  smaller  vines. 
Then,  with  the  aid  of  a  sharp  thorn  and  thread 
from  the  fibre  of  the  cocoanut,  I  sewed  together 
pieces  of  the  cocoanut  cloth  so  as  to  make  a  bag 
three  feet  long,  with  an  opening  of  the  same 
diameter  as  the  hoop.  Then  I  sewed  the  edge 
of  the  opening  of  the  bag  firmly  to  the  hoop, 
which  kept  the  bag  rigidly  open. 

Next,  from  more  vines,  I  wove  a  funnel- 
shaped  basket,  the  larger  end  fitting  inside  the 
hoop,  while  the  smaller  end,  which  was  inserted 
into  the  bag,  had  an  opening  about  six  inches 
in  diameter.  The  larger  end  of  this  basket, 
which  was  like  an  inverted  cone,  was  lashed  to 
the  hoop,  all  around. 


154  A  YANKEE   CRUSOE. 

This  was  my  fish-trap,  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
ready  I  took  it  to  the  brook.  The  water  was 
normally  low  and,  finding  the  narrowest  place 
in  the  current,  I  built  across  it  a  wall  of  stones, 
having  an  opening  in  the  centre  of  the  wall,  in 
width  just  a  little  less  than  the  diameter  of  the 
hoop.  The  trap  was  then  set  into  this  opening, 
with  the  mouth  pointing  up-stream,  the  gentle 
current  keeping  the  bag  distended,  while  the 
hoop  projecting  across  the  edges  of  the  opening 
in  the  wall  held  the  bag  in  position. 

I  expected  that  the  fish,  swimming  down- 
stream, finding  no  other  passage,  would  enter 
the  opening  of  the  bag  and  pass  through  the 
small  opening  in  the  lower  end  of  the  cone, 
thereby  becoming  imprisoned.  From  similar 
devices  that  my  brother  and  myself  had  made 
and  used  in  the  brooks  at  home,  I  knew  that, 
once  inside,  the  fish  would  huddle  in  the  lower 
end  of  the  bag  and  make  no  effort  to  repass 
through  the  opening  in  the  end  of  the  cone. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Another  Exploring  Trip ;   Tropical  Fruits. 

The  morning  following  the  setting  of  the 
trap  I  removed  it  and,  allowing  the  water  to 
drain  out  through  the  meshes  in  the  bag,  I 
found  three  beautiful  silvery  fish,  not  unlike 
the  white  perch  of  the  northern  waters.  Clean- 
ing them,  I  broiled  them  over  the  coals,  and 
found  them  to  be  delicious,  delicate  and  fine 
flavored.     After  that  I  had  no  lack  of  fresh  fish. 

Puff,  meantime,  had  made  rapid  progress  in 
the  art  of  talking  and  could  carry  on  quite  a 
conversation —  and  many  were  the  hours  I  spent 
assisting  him  in  adding  to  his  vocabulary.     He 

155 


156  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

insisted  upon  following  me  everywhere  I  went, 
always  walking  and  never  making  any  attempt 
to  fly,  his  instructions  in  the  use  of  his  wings 
having  been  neglected  since  his  capture.  When 
walking  through  the  bush  in  search  of  pigeons 
and  other  provisions,  I  always  carried  Puff 
perched  upon  my  shoulder,  and  he  never  made 
any  attempt  to  escape.  He  seemed  as  perfectly 
satisfied  with  my  society  as  I  was  with  his,  and 
we  kept  up  a  continuous  conversation. 

My  supply  of  salt  becoming  nearly  exhausted, 
[  procured  a  large  supply,  enough  to  last  me 
many  months,  by  the  same  process  as  had  been 
employed  on  the  first  experiment  while  march- 
ing along  the  coast.  This  I  sealed  securely  in 
joints  of  bamboo. 

Having  no  particular  task  on  hand,  one  after- 
noon I  proceeded  to  prepare  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions, roast  pigeon,  fish,  yam,  a  few  oranges 
and  half  a  dozen  green  cocoanuts,  preparatory 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  157 

to  setting  off,  the  following  morning,  to  explore 
along  the  bank  of  the  stream,  which  flowed 
almost  by  my  door,  toward  its  source.  I  knew 
that  this  was  a  separate  stream,  independent  of 
the  other  two  that  I  had  met  with.  I  remem- 
bered that  I  had  not  crossed  a  third  stream  on 
my  march  from  the  mountains,  and  I  was  curious 
as  to  its  source.  Certainly  it  must  be  much 
shorter  than  the  other  two. 

Seeking  my  couch  early  in  order  that  I  might 
set  off  by  daylight,  before  going  to  sleep  I  re- 
membered that  I  needed  a  new  supply  of  arrows. 
This  would  necessitate  delaying  another  day, 
and  in  the  morning  I  set  to  work,  and  before 
sunset  I  had  several  dozen  of  much  better  made 
arrows  than  the  first  ones. 

With  my  quiver  and  provision  bag  slung 
across  my  back  and  with  Puff  on  one  shoulder 
and  the  bow-gun  on  the  other,  I  set  out  just  as 
the   sun   was  rising  above  the  palm  trees.     I 


158  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

kept  to  the  left  bank  of  the  stream,  and  soon 
passed  "Bamboo  Pool"  where  I  had  first  dis- 
covered these  useful  plants. 

I  walked  along  rapidly,  stopping  only  to 
refresh  myself  and  Puff.  The  way  was  easy, 
for  there  were  very  few  shrubs  or  thorn  bushes 
along  the  bank.  But  I  had  to  occasionally  turn 
aside  to  avoid  inhospitable  cactus  plants,  and 
the  sharp,  dagger-like  plant  which  grew  plenti- 
fully almost  everywhere. 

Just  as  I  was  thinking  about  seeking  a  good 
place  to  camp  in  order  that  I  might  make  my- 
self and  Puff  comfortable  before  dark,  I  was 
brought  to  an  abrupt  stop,  where  I  stood  trans- 
fixed with  surprise ;  for  I  had  reached  the  source 
of  the  stream,  less  than  a  day's  journey  from 
my  house. 

Before  me  there  was  a  little  pool,  only  a  few 
feet  across,  and  its  centre  was  bubbling  and 
boiling.     The  water  which  supplied  the  stream 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  159 

flowed  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  While 
the  pool  was  violently  agitated,  no  sound  was 
made  by  the  up-rushing  water.  My  brook  was 
simply  the  outlet  of  a  subterranean  river. 

I  at  once  made  camp  for  the  night,  determin- 
ing to  spend  a  day  around  the  pool  before 
returning.  I  kindled  a  fire  for  the  sake  of  its 
cheering  effect,  and  made  my  supper  from  the 
provision  bag.     Puff  was  satisfied  with  a  banana. 

After  a  frugal  breakfast  in  the  morning — for 
I  had  only  some  plantain  and  a  part  of  one  of 
the  fish  left — I  set  out  to  explore  the  forest  in 
the  near  vicinity  of  the  pool.  Almost  imme- 
diately I  came  across  some  banana  trees,  and 
near  by  a  few  plantains  were  also  growing. 
Further  around  I  found  a  couple  of  orange 
trees.  This  seemed  quite  a  natural  garden,  and 
it  was  not  so  far  away  but  that  I  could  make 
frequent  trips  from  home  for  bananas  and 
plantains. 


160  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Penetrating  a  little  further  into  the  forest,  I 
came  to  a  little  clear  spot,  in  the  centre  of 
which  grew  two  large,  handsome  trees,  each 
with  straight,  rather  smooth  trunks,  with  sym- 
metrical tops. 

At  first  I  thought  both  the  trees  were  of  the 
same  kind,  but  I  soon  noticed  that  the  leaves  of 
one  were  larger  than  those  of  the  other,  and 
more  pinnate.  I  discovered  that  both  trees 
bore  curious-looking  fruit.  The  fruit,  too,  looked 
something  alike.  It  was  large,  round,  and  green 
in  color,  with  a  pebbly  rind.  Several  were  lying 
under  each  tree;  but  that  under  one  of  the 
trees  was  decayed,  and  when  I  tried  to  move  it 
with  my  foot  it  yielded  to  the  pressure,  and  as 
the  mass  parted  it  looked  like  uncooked  bread. 
The  fruit  under  the  other  tree  was  firm  and 
hard.  I  was  at  a  loss  to  solve  the  mystery. 
Cutting  one  of  the  latter,  I  found  that  it  had  a 
very  hard  shell.     Procuring  a  long  pole  from 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  161 

the  bush,  I  succeeded  in  knocking  off  some 
fresh  fruit  from  the  other  tree.  On  cutting 
this  I  found  that  the  skin  was  thin,  and  that  the 
inside  had  something  the  appearance  of  a  yam. 

I  carried  one  of  each  to  camp,  when  it  occurred 
to  me  to  roast  the  latter,  and  see  if  it  proved 
good  to  eat.  While  it  was  roasting  in  the  coals, 
I  cut  the  other  green  globe  in  halves,  and  found 
that  the  hard  shell  was  very  readily  separated 
from  the  meat,  leaving  two  nice  bowls,  suitable 
for  drinking  vessels,  and  perhaps  for  cooking. 
When  I  thought  the  other  was  thoroughly 
roasted,  I  took  it  from  the  ashes.  The  trans- 
formation was  marvelous.  The  fruit  was  now 
like  light,  white  bread.  Very  cautiously  I 
tasted  it,  and  found  that,  while  it  possessed  no 
decided  flavor,  it  was  very  delicate.  I  tried 
some  with  a  little  salt,  and  mentally  pronounced 
it  delicious. 

Before  going  into  camp  for  the  night,  I  pro- 


162  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

cured  half  a  dozen  of  each  fruit,  and,  early  in 
the  morning,  after  adding  a  supply  of  bananas 
and  plantains  to  my  burden,  started  to  return 
to  the  house,  which  was  reached  early  in  the 
evening. 

I  became  very  fond  of  the  new  fruit,  which 
answered  for  bread;  and  I  made  dishes  from  the 
shell  of  the  other  which  served  for  drinking 
vessels,  and  I  even  boiled  some  fish  in  one  of 
them. 

My  time  was  now  occupied  by  various  tasks. 
Frequent  trips  were  made  to  the  pool.  I 
planted  more  yams,  and  made  frequent  excur- 
sions hunting  pigeons.  I  also  made  a  complete 
suit  of  clothes  from  the  cocoanut  cloth,  includ- 
ing a  hat  and  a  pair  of  very  substantial  mocca- 
sins, for  my  shoes  were  all  but  useless.  These 
things  were  varied  by  giving  Puff  lessons  in 
conversation,  in  which  he  proved  to  be  an  apt 
scholar. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  163 

I  had  seen  no  turtles  on  this  part  of  the  coast, 
and  I  contemplated  a  journey  to  the  cove  where 
I  had  seen  them  months  before,  as  soon  as,  from 
my  calendar,  I  judged  it  to  be  their  breeding 
season.  I  had  long  craved  more  of  their  deli- 
cious eggs. 

As  the  days  and  weeks  passed,  frequent 
showers  came  up ;  and  after  a  time,  the  showers 
of  warm,  tepid  rain  became  more  frequent. 
Some  were  very  violent,  with  high  wind,  and 
occasionally  thunder  and  lightning.  They  rose 
quickly  and  as  quickly  passed  over,  when  the 
sun  would  burst  out,  making  the  drops  falling 
from  the  trees  glisten  like  silver.  But  there 
came  a  day  of  almost  steady  rain,  and,  after 
consulting  my  calendar,  I  found  that  it  was 
about  time  for  the  rainy  season  to  set  in. 

I  had  hardly  thought  of  the  rainy  season  since 
my  return  from  the  mountains.  Indeed,  I  had 
intended  to  set  to  work  and  attempt  to  construct 


164  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

a  craft  with  which  to  try  to  reach  the  distant 
land  to  the  east.  But  now  I  must  wait  for 
another  rainy  season  to  pass  before  attempting 
it,  for  the  sea  would  be  too  rough  to  risk  a  voy- 
age in  a  rude  and  frail  craft. 

I  allowed  gloomy  thoughts  to  take  possession 
of  me,  which  I  did  not  even  confide  to  Puff,  who 
was  my  only  comforter. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Hurricane  and  a  Shipwreck. 

I  strove  to  occupy  my  mind  by  digging  a 
large  store  of  yams,  and  gathering  hundreds  of 
cocoanuts,  and  storing  them  inside  the  house 
for  use  when  the  rain  should  prevent  my  going 
far  from  the  shore.  I  also  gathered  an  immense 
quantity  of  dead  branches  for  firewood,  which  I 
piled  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  covering  it  thickly 
with  grass  and  then  broad  leaves  and  bark 
stripped  from  the  trees,  to  shed  the  water. 

The  rain  became  almost  constant,  and  after  a 
day  of  hard  work  making  some  repairs  that  I 
thought  necessary  on  my  house,  I  lay  on  my 

165 


106  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

couch,  secure  from  the  rain  and  wind,  thinking 
of  the  past,  present  and  future.  The  wind  had 
risen  rapidly  until  it  had  become  a  gale.  I 
listened  to  the  rustle  and  flapping  of  the  leaves 
of  the  palm  trees,  and  to  the  roar  of  the  waves 
on  the  shore.  At  length,  through  the  crevices 
around  the  door  I  could  see  that  the  night  was 
frequently  lighted  up  by  vivid  flashes  of  light- 
ning. Heavy  thunder  began  to  rumble  away 
back  over  the  forest.  The  wind  increased,  and 
then  came  a  roar  which  seemed  to  shake  the 
earth,  and  shrieks  sounded  above  the  dashing  of 
the  surf  as  the  wind  came  with  terrible  force. 

I  could  hear  the  stockade  creak,  and  see  the 
walls  of  the  house  tremble.  The  rain  came  in 
torrents,  and  swept  against  the  enclosure.  An- 
other blinding  flash  and  roar,  and,  above  the 
rattle  of  the  palm  leaves  I  could  hear  the  crack 
and  crash  of  breaking  and  falling  branches  and 
tree  trunks.     A  hurricane  had  broken  over  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  167 

island.  I  lay  appalled,  and  listened  to  the  ter- 
rible havoc  of  the  tempest.  I  could  not  close 
my  eyes. 

It  seemed  as  thongh  the  night  would  never 
pass ;  but  after  long,  weary  hours,  a  faint  gray 
light  stole  into  the  house,  denoting  the  approach 
of  day  and  the  end  of  that  awful  night. 

The  storm  abated  a  little,  but  the  crashing 
sounds  continued  to  come  from  the  forest.  As 
soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see  plainly  I 
ventured  to  go  outside  the  stockade.  The  struc- 
ture had  withstood  the  force  of  the  wind;  but 
what  a  pitiful  sight  greeted  me  as  I  looked 
about.  Many  of  the  tall  cocoanut  palms  that 
had  been  my  friends  and  companions  from  the 
first  lay  prostrate,  twisted  and  broken.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  nuts,  leaves  and 
broken  branches.  The  little  stream  was  full  to 
the  very  top  of  the  banks. 

The  waves  roared  and  thundered  on  the  nar- 


168  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

row  beach.  I  turned  toward  the  sea  and  thought 
about  the  night  of  the  wreck. 

But  had  I  gone  mad?  Had  the  horrors  of 
the  night  so  affected  my  mind?  I  covered  my 
eyes,  and  in  a  moment  looked  again. 

Yes,  out  toward  the  bluff,  only  a  few  rods 
from  the  shore,  was  a  vessel.  It  lay  as  though 
at  anchor.  I  saw  that  it  was  a  barkentine. 
The  vessel  had  not  anchored;  she  was  stranded. 
Then  I  ran  to  the  shore  and  waved  my  arms 
wildly.  I  could  not  go  to  the  bluff  on  account 
of  the  swollen  stream.  I  saw  several  men 
walking  around  the  windlass.  Then  they  ran 
excitedly  along  the  deck;  and  then  I  saw  but 
two  men  on  the  deck.  I  gazed  out  at  the  rock- 
ing vessel  and  saw  a  boat  slowly  swing  around 
the  bow.  It  was  filled  with  men  rowing.  I 
saw  the  boat  pointed  toward  the  shore.  I 
watched  it  eagerly.  The  boat  seemed  to  make 
no  headway.     But,  yes,  it  was  slowly  making 


<(  j  *  *  waXied  my  arms,  wildly.'' 


Page  168. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  169 

headway.  Then  again  my  heart  sank,  as  through 
the  flying  spume  I  saw  a  mountain  of  water,  a 
great  billow  many  times  higher  than  the  stranded 
ship,  come  rolling  into  the  bay.  I  stood  trans- 
fixed with  horror,  spellbound,  as  I  watched  the 
water,  coming  with  the  speed  of  the  wind,  with 
a  roar  which  every  instant  became  more  terrific. 

Powerless  to  aid  the  poor  souls  in  the  boat, 
struggling  against  a  forlorn  hope,  in  this  moment 
of  peril  —  of  instant  death,  I  stood,  sick  and 
faint,  in  contemplation  of  their  fate. 

The  great  wave  now  overhung  the  vessel. 
Its  foam-fringed  crest  curled  over  and,  with  a 
fearful  snarl  of  anger,  like  some  dread  monster 
with  jaws  agape,  it  rushed  over  the  vessel  and 
obscured  it  from  sight. 

I  sank  to  the  ground  and  covered  my  face,  as 
I  wept  in  anguish.  I  was  overcome  at  the 
awful  thought  of  the  catastrophe  and  by  the 
instant,  but  full  realization  of  my  great  disap- 


170  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

pointment, — almost  at  the  moment  when  rescue 
from  my  long,  lonely  exile  seemed  near,  every 
hope  vanished;  and  in  a  few  moments  I  should 
see  the  bodies  of  those  whom  I  hoped  would 
succor  me  tossed  ashore,  bruised  and  mangled. 
These  thoughts  flashed  rapidly  through  my 
mind  as  I  sank  to  the  earth. 

Yet  there  was  a  faint  hope,  and  the  flitting 
thought  caused  my  courage  to  revive  for  an 
instant. 

If  the  boat,  perchance,  escaped  being 
swamped  and  should  be  borne  far  enough  to- 
ward the  beach  to  ground  firmly  and  thus  escape 
being  carried  back  by  the  receding  water,  her 
passengers  might  be  saved;  but  if  not,  her  fate 
was  certain,  for  she  would  be  hurled  back  upon 
upon  the  reef  and  not  a  soul  would  escape. 

I  started  to  my  feet  and  strained  my  eyes  in 
the  direction  of  the  vessel  as  the  huge  wave 
thundered  upon  the  beach,  the  water  rolling  far 
up  toward  my  house. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  171 

Oh,  the  awful  anguish  of  that  moment !  At 
first  I  could  see  no  sign  of  the  vessel,  but  as 
the  succeeding  wave  subsided  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  vessel  and  saw  that  her  masts,  spars  and 
rigging  were  hanging  about  her  in  a  tangled 
mass  of  wreck.  The  hull  seemed  to  remain  in 
about  the  same  position,  it  only  having  careened 
shoreward.  The  boat  was  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
though  I  carefully  scanned  every  inch  of  the 
swirling  water.  Perhaps  it  had  been  dashed 
ashore  unseen  by  me,  obscured  in  the  cloud  of 
foam. 

I  dashed  to  the  beach  and  ran  eagerly  along 
the  shore,  hoping  to  find  the  boat  and  to  rescue 
her  passengers  who,  if  discovered,  would  be  in 
a  state  of  insensibility.  But  my  search  was 
fruitless,  and  I  stood  again  a  hopeless  castaway, 
no  nearer  rescue  than  when,  on  that  bright 
morning  after  the  storm  which  sent  the  Ethelyn 
Hope  to  the  bottom,  I  regained  consciousness 
to  find  myself  alone  at  this  very  spot. 


172  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

I  returned  to  my  house  and  tried  to  reconcile 
myself  to  my  disappointment,  and  to  adjust  my 
mind  to  the  rapid  succession  of  events  in  which 
were  mingled  joy  and  sorrow,  hope  and  despair, 
all  within  little  more  than  a  half-hour. 

Fortunately  my  house,  thanks  to  the  thor- 
oughness with  which  the  builder,  assisted  by 
nature,  had  done  his  work,  had  withstood  the 
fury  of  the  hurricane  and  had  proved  to  be  im- 
pervious to  the  rain,  so  I  had  no  difficulty  in 
making  a  fire,  by  which  I  prepared  breakfast, 
drying  my  costume  in  the  meantime. 

The  wind  had  by  this  time  nearly  all  died 
away,  though  the  incessant  roar  of  the  surf 
continued  on  the  beach.  Hoping  still  that  some 
one  from  the  ill-fated  vessel  might  escape  to 
keep  me  company,  I  went  again  to  the  beach, 
walking  along  toward  the  creek.  Seeing  neither 
a  body  nor  a  sign  of  the  boat,  I  started  to  fol- 
low along  the  bank  of  the  creek  with  the  in- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  173 

tention  of  crossing  it  and  searching  along  the 
shore  in  front  of  the  bluff;  but  I  had  taken 
a  few  steps  only  when  I  stopped  in  astonish- 
ment, for  almost  at  my  feet,  her  shoulders  upon 
a  tangle  of  reeds,  lay  the  body  of  a  young 
woman.  I  thought  she  must  be  dead,  for  she 
was  very  white  and  her  eyes,  while  open,  were 
fixed,  turned  upward  toward  the  palm  leaves. 
As  gently  as  I  could  I  lifted  her  and  with  some 
difficulty  bore  her  to  a  mound  at  the  foot  of  a 
palm  tree,  where  I  laid  her  carefully  down,  rest- 
ing her  drooping  head  in  a  natural  position. 

Poor  girl — for  she  was  but  a  girl — cast  up 
by  the  sea,  dead;  and  that  was  all  I  could  ever 
know  about  her.  How  tenderly  I  would  lay 
her  beneath  the  tropical  flowers  on  the  bluff,  in 
a  grave  lined  with  soft  grass! — alas,  all  I  could 
do. 

Sadly  I  gazed  at  the  still  form,  and  was  about 
to  turn  away  again  toward  the  beach  when,  to 


174  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

my  great  surprise,  I  thought  I  noticed  a  faint 
tremor  on  her  face  and  a  movement  of  her 
hands.  I  must  be  mistaken;  but  no,  again 
there  was  a  movement — no  mistaking  it  this 
time — then  her  eyes  closed.  I  knelt  beside 
her  and  held  her  wrist.  It  was  cold,  but  I 
thought  I  could  detect  a  tiny  nicker  of  the 
pulse.  Certain  now  that  life  remained,  I  lifted 
her  as  tenderly  as  possible.  She  was  very  slight 
and  I  could  easily  bear  her  weight;  but  her 
body  was  so  limp  that  I  found  it  difficult  to 
carry  her,  supporting  her  head  at  the  same  time. 
However,  I  reached  the  house,  bore  her  within 
and  laid  her  upon  the  couch.  Then  I  took  a 
piece  of  the  cocoanut  cloth,  hastily  twisting  it 
to  make  it  as  soft  as  possible,  and  went  to  work 
vigorously  chafing  her  wrists  and  hands,  and  I 
was  presently  rewarded  by  seeing  her  open  her 
eyes.  Her  head  was  turned  slightly  away,  but 
with  a  faint  sigh  she  moved  it  toward  me.     With 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  175 

a  wondering  gaze  she  looked  full  into  my  face 
for  a  moment,  and  then  her  eyes  closed  again. 
She  had  lost  consciousness,  and  I  again  chafed 
her  hands  and  loosened  her  wet  garments  about 
her  throat.  In  what  must  have  been  a  few 
moments  only,  but  what  seemed  to  me  to  be 
hours,  she  again  opened  her  eyes  and  I  saw  her 
lips  move.  I  bent  close  to  her  and  made  out  to 
catch  her  words,  faintly-  whispered. 

"Where  am  I?     Is  papa  here?" 

That  was  all,  for  then  she  swooned  away 
again. 

Her  father.  How  strange  it  all  was,  and  now 
for  the  first  time,  I  remembered  that  I  had  not 
noticed  a  woman  on  the  deck  of  the  ship  before 
the  boat  was  launched.  Satisfied  now  that  her 
life  was  safe,  I  left  her,  hurried  to  the  beach  and 
renewed  my  search,  when,  directly  in  front  of 
my  door,  with  the  water  washing  partly  over  it, 
I  saw  the  body  of  a  man  resting  upon  the  sand. 


176  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

From  his  appearance  I  judged  him  to  be  a 
sailor.  I  dragged  the  body  out  of  the  water. 
The  limbs  were  rigid  and  there  was  a  deep  gash 
on  the  left  temple. 

Feeling  certain  that  life  was  extinct,  I  turned 
and  continued  my  search.  I  soon  picked  up  an 
oar,  and  as  I  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek  I 
saw  something  which  caused  me  to  start  back, 
involuntarily.  It  was  a  hand  protruding  from 
a  pile  of  broken  reeds.  Hastily  I  tore  away  the 
reeds,  revealing  the  body  of  a  man,  which,  I 
noticed,  was  not  dressed  like  a  sailor.  While  I 
was  moving  the  body  away  from  the  edge  of  the 
creek  I  observed  that  the  man  was  rather  past 
middle  life,  well  built  and  rather  stout,  of  medium 
complexion,  with  thick  hair  and  moustache,  both 
being  sprinkled  with  gray.  His  limbs  were  not 
rigid,  which  caused  me  to  hope  that  a  spark  of 
life  remained.  I  therefore  began  to  treat  him 
as  I  knew  drowning   persons  should  be  dealt 


A  YANKEE   CRUSOE.  177 

with,  and  shortly,  to  my  great  joy,  he  began  to 
revive  and  was,  ere  long,  able  to  sit  np  and  look 
about  him.  He  gazed  at  me  in  seeming  wonder 
as  though  thinking  me  to  be  a  being  of  a  differ- 
ent species  from  himself,  which  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at  in  view  of  my  picturesque  costume. 

"Oh  Marjorie,  my  poor  girl:"  were  his  first 
words. 

"If  you  mean  your  daughter,  sir,"  I  said, 
"she  is  safe  and  sound  in  my  house  yonder." 
He  extended  his  hand  to  me,  which  I  took  and 
held  while  he  recovered  his  vitality  sufficiently 
to  go  to  the  house. 

"I  fear  we  shall  intrude  greatly  upon  the 
hospitality  of  your  household;"  he  said,  with  a 
little  effort. 

"No  fear  of  that,  sir,"  I  made  reply;  "for  the 
company  of  yourself  and  daughter  is  certainly  a 
great  pleasure  to  me  and  I  am  the  sole  member 
of  my  household." 


178  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

"Are  you  alone,  then?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  sir,  alone  on  this  island,"  I  answered. 

He  was  going  to  say  more  but  I  begged  him 
to  desist  until  he  was  stronger,  and  until  he  was 
able  to  proceed  to  the  house. 

He  expressed  himself  as  being  fully  able  to 
do  so,  and  as  he  seemed  anxious  about  his 
daughter  I  assisted  him  to  rise;  and,  placing  an 
arm  about  him  I  supported  him  as  he  walked 
slowly  to  the  house. 

The  meeting  of  father  and  daughter  was  a 
joyous  one.  The  girl  was  able  to  sit  up  and  the 
color  was  returning  to  her  cheeks.  I  could  not 
help  noticing  at  a  glance  that  she  was  very 
pretty,  tall  with  a  slender  well  moulded  figure, 
with  brown  hair  and  blue  eyes  and  a  clear  com- 
plexion. She  was,  I  judged,  anywhere  from 
seventeen  to  nineteen  years  old.  With  usual 
feminine  thoughtfulness  of  her  appearance  she 
had   already   coiled   her   hair   neatly    and    re- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  179 

arranged  her  damp  garments  as  well  as  she  was 
able.  While  I  stirred  up  the  fire  so  that  my 
visitors  might  dry  their  clothes,  the  father  re- 
lated, briefly,  the  story  of  their  experiences. 

His  name  was  Richard  Harborough,  of  Hali- 
fax, Nova  Scotia,  from  which  port  the  wrecked 
barkentine,  Three  Sisters,  of  which  he  was  the 
owner,  hailed.  His  family  consisted  of  his  wife, 
and  three  daughters  for  whom  his  vessel  was 
named.  He  had  determined  to  make  a  voyage 
in  his  vessel  for  health  and  recreation  and  his 
daughter  Marjorie,  a  student  at  Dalhousie 
College,  whose  health  had  been  impaired  by 
overstudy,  had  accompanied  him,  the  family 
physician  strongly  recommending  a  voyage  in 
the  southern  seas  as  a  restorative. 

The  Three  Sisters  had  taken  out  a  cargo  of 
general  merchandise  to  Demerara,  British  Guiana, 
and  after  discharging  she  had  proceeded  to 
Greytown,   British   Honduras,   where   she   had 


180  A  YANKEE   CRUSOE. 

taken  in  a  partial  cargo  of  mahogany  for  Boston, 
proceeding  from  the  Central  American  coast  to 
San  Domingo  where  she  took  on  board  sufficient 
logwood  to  complete  her  cargo.  During  heavy 
weather  the  seas  that  came  aboard  had  polluted 
her  fresh-water  casks  and  seeing  the  island  just 
at  dusk  they  had  put  in  toward  it  intending  to 
anchor  until  morning  and  then  to  come  ashore 
and  refill  her  casks.  But  the  storm  broke  upon 
her,  the  rain  obscured  the  island,  and  she  would 
have  gone  ashore  had  she  not  struck  one  of  the 
hidden  coral  reefs.  What  prevented  her  masts 
from  going  overboard  the  men  could  not  ex- 
plain; but  it  must  have  been  a  miracle,  they 
said.  As  soon  as  the  barkentine  struck,  the 
anchor  was  let  go,  by  which  it  was  hoped  she 
would  be  prevented  from  drifting,  until  day- 
light. When  first  I  saw  the  men  on  the  deck 
they  were  hauling  up  the  anchor,  finding  that 
the  barkentine  had  not  drifted,  with  the  inten- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  181 

tion  of  taking  it  to  windward  and  trying  to  work 
her  off  the  reef  by  heaving  at  the  windlass. 
But  realizing  that  the  vessel  was  hopelessly 
aground,  and  fearing  that  she  might  break  up, 
it  was  decided  to  try  to  reach  the  shore,  the 
result  of  which  attempt  I  had  witnessed. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Pleasant   Companions;  Enlarging  the  House. 

I  told  them,  as  briefly  as  possible,  the  story 
of  my  exile  on  the  island,  to  which  they  listened, 
seemingly  with  the  greatest  interest,  refraining, 
on  account  of  delicacy,  I  supposed,  from  asking 
about  my  strange  garb. 

"And  now,"  I  said  at  the  conclusion  of  my 
narrative,  "you  must  make  yourselves  at  home 
and  as  comfortable  as  possible,  while  I  see  about 
dinner" — for  it  was  just  mid-day — "and  then 
we  will  attend  to  the  poor  fellow  who  lies  out>- 
side  on  the  beach." 

So  saying  I   took   my  bow-gun,  my   guests 

182 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  183 

watching  me  in  wonder,  and  started  for  the 
thicket  behind  the  house. 

I  hoped  to  secure  a  pigeon,  for  my  companions 
must  be  in  need  of  nourishing  food.  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  spy  a  pigeon  almost  immediately 
and  to  secure  it  with  a  single  arrow.  My  com- 
panions were  greatly  surprised  to  see  me  return 
so  quickly,  and  after  placing  some  yams  and 
bread  fruit  to  roast  in  the  ashes,  I  set  about 
plucking  the  pigeon.  It  was  a  plump  bird,  of 
the  ring-tail  variety.  Half  of  it  I  fixed  over  the 
coals  to  roast,  and  with  the  remainder  I  pro- 
ceeded to  make  some  broth,  which  I  succeeded 
very  well  in  doing,  thickening  it  with  crumbs 
of  cold  roasted  bread  fruit,  and  seasoning  it 
with  salt  of  my  own  manufacture,  as  I  ex- 
plained to  my  guests,  while  I  prepared  it. 

After  the  repast,  which  greatly  revived  Mr. 
Harborough  and  his  daughter,  we  all  went  to 
the  beach,  I  leading  the  way,  to  where  the  dead 
sailor  lay. 


184  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

"Poor  fellow,"  said  Mr.  Harborough,  "it  is 
the  third  mate.  The  barkentine  carried  seven 
men  beside  the  captain  and  three  mates.  We 
must  see  if  any  more  have  come  ashore."  But 
although  we  searched  carefully  all  along  the 
shore  up  the  bay,  we  found  no  other  bodies. 
So  the  dead  sailor  was  carried  tenderly  to  the 
palm  grove,  where  he  was  laid  in  a  grave,  dug 
after  much  hard  labor,  and  lined  with  grass;  I 
promising  to  carve  a  head-piece  for  it,  in  the 
near  future. 

Then  I  took  Mr.  Harborough  and  his  daugh- 
ter around  the  neighborhood  of  my  hut,  show- 
ing them  where  I  had  been  cast  ashore,  where  I 
had  gathered  the  reeds  and  cut  the  bamboos  for 
my  house,  where  I  had  discovered  the  yam 
vines;  indeed,  I  gave  them  a  careful  history  of 
my  doings  thereabout,  which  used  up  all  the 
afternoon.  The  sea,  meantime,  had  subsided 
and  the  sun  had  dried  the  bush  and  the  grass; 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  185 

and  after  a  frugal  meal  from  the  remnants  of 
the  noonday  repast,  we  sat  long  in  front  of  the 
house  beneath  the  tropical  sky,  watching  the 
moon  rising  above  the  feathery  palm  tops,  while 
we  speculated  regarding  the  future. 

The  situation  presented  few  complications, 
for  we  must  simply  make  the  best  of  every- 
thing until  rescued,  be  it  days,  months,  or  years. 
Mr.  Harborough  had  most  important  informa- 
tion to  communicate,  namely,  that  the  Three 
Sisters  had  a  bountiful  store  of  food  supplies 
and  cooking  utensils,  as  well  as  a  rifle,  shot-gun 
and  ammunition  for  each.  The  rifle  had  be- 
longed to  the  captain  and  the  shotrgun  to  the 
mate,  who,  when  opportunity  offered,  were 
accustomed  to  go  ashore  for  a  little  sport, 
shooting.  To  get  these  treasures  ashore  would 
greatly  add  to  our  comfort,  and,  although  we 
had  no  boat,  we  resolved,  very  early  in  the 
morning,   to   set    about   discussing    means  for 


186  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

saving  as  much  as  possible  from  the  vessel. 
Mr.  Harborough,  I  was  glad  to  see,  took  a 
cheerful  view  of  the  situation,  and  was  resolved 
not  to  despair;  and  Miss  Harborough,  also, 
showed  her  bravery  by  taking  the  greatest 
interest  in  our  plans.  With  some  large  pieces 
of  cocoanut  cloth  I  screened  off  a  corner  of  the 
room,  including  my  couch,  which  was  to  serve 
as  Miss  Harborough's  sleeping  apartment,  while 
Mr.  Harborough  and  I  stretched  ourselves  on 
the  floor  near  the  door.  Before  we  slept  I 
communicated  to  him  my  intention  to  build  an 
addition  to  the  house  before  attempting  to  do 
much  in  getting  things  from  the  vessel,  in  order 
to  afford  Miss  Harborough  privacy,  by  having 
a  room  to  herself.  He  thanked  me  for  all  my 
kindness,  and  we  knew  no  more  until  awakened 
by  Puff,  who,  while  everything  was  damp,  had 
not  been  heard  from.  Indeed,  I  had,  I  re- 
gretted to  admit,  forgotten  him.     But  now,  his 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  187 

feathers  dry,  and  the  morning  bright  and  fair, 
he  made  himself  heard,  indicating  by  all  the 
words  in  his  vocabulary,  interspersed  with  shrill 
screeches,  that  he  was  hungry,  and  would  brook 
no  delay  in  having  his  wants  supplied. 

The  morning  repast  finished,  we  adjourned 
to  the  beach  to  lay  out  a  plan  of  work  for  the 
immediate  future.  We  had  two  matters  to  dis- 
cuss :  one,  the  most  important,  of  devising  ways 
and  means  of  transporting  the  supplies  from  the 
stranded  barkentine  to  the  shore,  and  the  other, 
the  construction  of  an  addition  to  the  house  for 
the  accommodation  of  Miss  Harborough. 

"It  seems  to  me,"  observed  Mr.  Harborough, 
"that  we  should  solve  the  problem  of  getting  out 
to  the  vessel  as  quickly  as  possible ;  for,  if  there 
arises  another  great  storm,  she  might  break  up." 

"That  is  very  true,"  I  replied,  and  your  sug- 
gestion is  a  wise  one ;  so,  as  the  building  of  the 
addition  to  the  house  will  not  be  a  long  task  if 


i88  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

we  work  together,  let  us  set  to  work  upon  it 
at  once.  We  will  construct  it  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  I  built  this  house." 

It  was  decided  that  Mr.  Harborough  should 
cut  the  bamboos  and  the  canes,  while  I  would 
build  the  house,  having  acquired  some  skill 
from  my  previous  work. 

"I  fear  you  will  find  it  laborious  work,  for  I 
have  only  this  knife,"  I  observed,  taking  out 
my  much-used  knife. 

"Ah,"  he  replied,  "I  have  a  good  knife,  larger 
and  stronger  than  yours;"  so  saying  he  produced 
a  large  pocketrknife,  having  a  broad,  strong 
blade. 

"Capital,"  said  I;  "now  we  shall  get  on 
famously." 

I  conducted  him  to  the  thicket  of  bamboos  a 
a  little  way  up  the  stream,  leaving  him,  while  I 
went  a  little  further  down,  to  cut  reeds. 

"Oh,"  but  I  want  to  do  something  to  help," 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  189 

exclaimed  Miss  Harborough.  "What  can  I  do?" 
"You  can  be  of  the  greatest  assistance  by 
carrying  reeds  to  the  house.  They  are  very 
light,  and,  besides,  you  can  take  small  armfulls." 
She  was  overjoyed  at  the  idea,  and  she  at 
once  set  to  work  with  much  enthusiasm.  I  cut 
a  quantity  of  reeds  and  then  went  back  to  bring 
some  bamboos,  after  which  I  set  to  work  cutting 
a  door-way  through  the  side  of  the  house  to 
connect  it  with  the  extension.  I  pursued  the 
same  methods  as  in  making  the  main  house, 
Mr.  Harborough  cutting  bamboos  and  reeds,  his 
daughter  bringing  all  the  filling  material  from 
the  stream,  while  I  set  up  the  frame  and  wove 
the  reeds  into  the  walls.  This  finished,  grass 
was  cut  for  thatching  the  roof.  We  worked 
steadily,  only  stopping  for  a  bit  to  eat  at  noon, 
so  that,  by  sunset,  the  addition  was  completed. 
It  was  six  by  eight  feet  in  dimensions,  and  it 
was  very  thoroughly  made.     After  consulting 


190  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Miss  Harborough,  it  was  decided  not  to  have  a 
door  between  the  two  apartments,  but  to  hang 
up  a  curtain  instead.  I  suggested  that  the  cur- 
tain be  made  of  cocoanut  cloth,  and  I  promised 
Miss  Harborough  to  gather  the  cloth  in  the 
morning,  and  show  her  how  to  sew  it  together 
with  fine  roots. 

We  all  sat  for  a  time  in  front  of  the  house, 
enjoying  the  breeze  which  blew  toward  the 
land  after  the  sun-down,  retiring  early  in  anti- 
cipation of  the  work  of  the  morrow.  Before  I 
slept  I  had  formed  a  plan  to  reach  the  barken- 
tine  on  the  reef,  which  I  believed  would  prove 
successful.  The  morning  dawned  bright  and 
cloudless,  and  the  household  was  awakened  by 
Puff,  screaming  for  his  breakfast. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Building  a  Raft ;   Visits  to  the  Wreck. 

We  first  visited  the  young  cocoanut  palms 
from  which  I  cut  a  supply  of  cloth  for  the  cur- 
tain, to  be  hung  between  the  two  apartments  in 
the  house;  and  while  I  dug  some  small  roots 
for  thread,  to  use  in  sewing  the  pieces  together, 
Mr.  Harborough,  under  my  direction,  with  his 
knife  shaped  from  a  piece  of  hard  wood,  a  bod- 
kin, to  be  used  in  lieu  of  a  needle  in  sewing. 

Leaving  Miss  Harborough  comfortably  en- 
sconced in  front  of  the  house,  with  the  mate- 
rials around  her,  Mr.  Harborough  and  myself 
set  about  the  task  of  reaching  the  vessel, 

191 


192  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

"There  is  but  one  way  to  reach  her,  sir,"  I 
said,  "and  that  is  by  means  of  a  raft.  It  is  the 
only  sort  of  a  craft  that  we  can  construct  with 
no  tools,  and,  besides,  I  believe  we  can  make  a 
raft  which  will  carry  the  cargo." 

"Your  experience  fits  you  to  take  the  initia- 
tive," he  replied.  "I  am  under  your  direction. 
You  shall  lead,  and  I  will  follow  and  obey  your 
instructions." 

"I  am  sure  our  combined  ideas  only  will  pro- 
duce the  best  results,"  I  made  answer.  "But 
first  let  us  proceed  to  the  bamboo  thicket." 

As  we  started  to  go  up  stream,  Mr.  Harbo- 
rough  turned  and  cast  on  anxious  look  toward 
his  daughter. 

Noticing  this,  I  hastened  to  reassure  him  con- 
cerning her  safety. 

"And  are  there  no  wild  animals  on  the  island?" 
he  asked. 

"I  have  seen  none  hereabout,"  I  assured  him. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  193 

I  remembered  the  wild  pigs  that  I  had  met  on 
my  march  around  the  coast,  but  I  thought  best 
not  to  unduly  alarm  him  by  alluding  to  them. 

"  And  do  you  believe  the  island  entirely  unin- 
habited?" he  asked. 

"At  the  present  time  I  believe  it  is  absolutely 
uninhabited,"  I  replied.  As  we  walked  along  I 
told  him  about  the  old  wall  on  the  mountain, 
adding  that  it  was  evidently  constructed  by 
civilized  people,  long  ago.  An  idea  occurred 
to  me  at  that  moment  concerning  the  ruined 
wall,  but  I  resolved  not  to  communicate  it  at 
present. 

As  for  the  wild  pigs,  I  did  not  believe  they 
would  put  in  an  appearance  in  this  part  of  the 
island.  Reaching  the  bamboo  thicket,  we  set 
to  work  cutting  a  great  quantity  of  them,  select- 
ing those  from  two  to  four  inches  in  diameter, 
I,  meanwhile,  explaining  to  Mr.  Harborough 
how   I   proposed   to   construct   the   raft.      We 


194  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

labored  incessantly  the  entire  day,  only  stop- 
ping, when  the  sun  stood  directly  overhead,  to 
allay  the  cravings  of  our  appetites;  and  reach- 
ing the  house,  we  were  delighted  to  find  that 
Miss  Harborough  had  dinner  all  ready  for  us, 
she  having  roasted  some  yams  and  the  only 
remaining  bread  fruit.  I  resolved  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  pool  and  procure  another  supply  at 
once. 

Miss  Harborough  had  finished  the  curtain,  and 
before  we  returned  to  our  bamboo  cutting  we 
hung  it  in  place,  fastening  it  with  wooden  skew- 
ers. 

While  we  continued  to  cut  bamboos  Miss 
Harborough  wandered  about  admiring  and  won- 
dering at  the  many  tropical  sights  and  sounds. 
I  continued  to  keep  the  records  of  the  days  on 
my  cocoanut-shell  calendar.  In  two  days  we 
had  cut  what  I  believed  was  a  sufficient  number 
of  bamboos.     The  following   day  was  Sunday; 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  195 

and  while  we  resolved  to  abstain  from  working 
on  the  raft,  we  agreed  that  the  time  was  too 
precious  to  remain  entirely  idle;  so  we  resolved 
to  devote  the  day  to  replenishing  our  larder. 

We  were  early  astir  and  prepared  for  a  trip 
to  the  pool.  Before  setting  out  I  got  out  the 
fish  net,  which  I  set  in  the  stream,  explaining 
that  we  would  remove  it  on  our  return,  and 
hoping  that  it  would  yield  a  good  number  of 
fish.  I  took  my  bow-gun,  intending  to  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  for  pigeons,  and  Miss  Harborough 
carried  Puff,  I  having  taken  care  to  secure  him 
to  her  arm  by  a  thong  so  he  could  not  impede 
our  progress  by  flying  away  into  the  thicket. 

We  followed  the  bank  of  the  stream  and  in 
due  time  reached  the  pool  where  we  set  about, 
in  the  best  of  spirits,  gathering  water-cocoanuts, 
bread  fruit,  oranges,  bananas  and  plantains. 
Refreshing  ourselves  upon  some  ripe  bananas 
that  we  found  scattered  through  the  bunches, 


196  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

while  we  sat  beneath  the  shade  of  the  broad 
leaves,  we  gathered  up  our  spoils  and  set  out  to 
return. 

I  decided  to  keep  along  the  edge  of  the  forest 
going  back,  hoping  to  bag  a  pigeon  or  two ;  and 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  four,  to  the  great 
wonder  of  my  companions  who  marvelled  at  my 
markmanship  and  the  accuracy  of  the  rude  bow- 
gun. 

Arriving  home  the  net  was  removed  from  the 
stream,  being  nearly  half  filled  with  fish.  The 
question  of  food  was  settled  for  several  days, 
and  we  could  work  on  the  raft  uninterrupted. 

Miss  Harborough  allotted  to  herself  the  duty 
of  preparing  the  food,  and  well  did  she  perform 
her  task.  She  not  only  had  our  meals  ready 
with  unfailing  regularity,  but  her  womanly  in- 
stinct enabled  her  to  devise  dinners,  dainty  and 
appetising  innovations  in  the  simple  cookery, 
that  were  most  acceptable. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE  197 

The  foundation  of  the  raft  was  laid  by  placing 
bamboos  on  the  beach  just  out  of  reach  of  the 
surf,  there  being  no  discernable  tide,  about  one 
foot  apart.  The  poles,  forming  a  layer,  were 
about  eighteen  feet  long,  and  there  were  four- 
teen of  them.  This  fixed  the  dimensions  of  the 
raft,  eighteen  by  fourteen  feet.  These  were 
firmly  lashed  together  with  lianas  from  the 
thicket  near  by,  which  were  passed  over  and 
under  each  alternate  pole,  across  to  the  opposite 
side  and  back  again,  six  times  across,  with 
double  weaving  at  the  ends.  Next  we  cut  a 
great  quantity  of  reeds  and  laid  them  evenly 
over  the  frame-work,  to  the  thickness  of  about 
two  feet.  Another  frame  was  then  made  the 
same  size  as  the  first,  which  was  placed  over 
the  reeds  and  bound  firmly  to  the  bottom  frame, 
to  which  it  was  firmly  fastened  with  lianas 
around  the  edges,  forming  a  sort  of  mattress. 
This  process  was  repeated  until  the  raft  was 


198  .  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

fully  six  feet  thick.  This  work,  as  is  to  be  sup- 
posed, occupied  several  days;  but  when  it  was 
completed  we  had  reason  to  feel  proud  of  the 
result.  Indeed,  it  was  the  outcome  of  no  little 
skill. 

We  expected  that  the  buoyancy  of  the  mate- 
rials of  which  it  was  constructed,  together  with 
its  great  thickness,  would  enable  the  raft  to  float 
with  its  top  high  out  of  the  water,  which  would 
allow  it  it  to  support  a  considerable  load.  And, 
besides,  it  was  so  light  that  our  combined  efforts 
sufficed  to  move  it  quite  readily.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  day  following  its  completion,  we 
launched  the  raft,  and  to  our  great  satisfaction 
saw  that  it  floated  like  a  cork.  We  decided 
that  a  long  bamboo  to  be  used  as  a  scull-oar 
would  be  the  best  means  of  propelling  it.  One 
half  of  the  thickness  of  the  larger  end  of  this 
bamboo  was  split  away  the  length  of  the  first 
joint,  which  gave  a  flat  surface  to  offer  resist- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  199 

ance  to  the  water  in  sculling.  Another  bamboo 
was  provided  to  be  used  in  poling.  We  were 
now  ready  to  set  out  for  the  wreck.  Miss  Har- 
borough  expressed  a  desire  to  accompany  us, 
but  I  demurred,  until  we  had  proved  the  sea- 
worthiness and  stability  of  the  raft,  in  which 
her  father  joined.  So  she  seated  herself  near 
the  beach  and  watched  us  as  we  pushed  off. 

Beneath  our  combined  weight  the  raft  did 
not  appear  to  sink  perceptibly,  and  it  promised 
to  float  a  good  amount  of  cargo.  This  was 
most  pleasing  to,  us  for  it  would  enable  us  to 
remove  what  we  wanted  from  the  vessel  rapidly. 
We  joined  in  poling  the  raft  until  the  water 
became  too  deep,  after  which  I  used  the  scull 
from  the  end,  being  somewhat  of  an  expert  by 
reason  of  my  boyish  practice  with  a  punt  on  the 
pond  near  the  home  of  my  childhood.  The  sea 
was  placid,  and  it  required  only  a  few  minutes 
to  reach  the  wreck.     I  propelled  the  raft  under 


200  A  YANKEE  CRUSOE. 

the  bow-sprit  and  held  it  steady  by  grasping 
the  martingale,  while  Mr.  Harborough  climbed 
aboard,  from  whence  he  threw  a  line  with  which 
I  quickly  made  the  raft  fast,  and  joined  him  on 
the  deck. 

The  scene  around  us  was  one  of  confusion. 
The  deck  was  strewn  with  a  tangled  mass  of 
rigging,  rendering  it  not  a  little  difficult  to 
move  about. 

"I  think,"  said  Mr.  Harborough,  "  that  we 
should  proceed  systematically  through  the  ves- 
sel, and  I  suggest  that  we  first  proceed  to  the 
cabin." 

So  we  descended  the  companionway  which 
led  to  the  roomy  cabin.  It  was  comfortably, 
though  not  luxuriously  fitted  up,  after  the  usual 
style  of  vessels  going  on  long  voyages.  Mr. 
Harborough  proceeded  to  collect  all  his  cloth- 
ing, while  I,  at  his  suggestion,  gathered  into  a 
bundle  all  of  the  wearing  apparel  that  had  be- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  201 

longed  to  the  captain,  to  be  appropriated  to  my 
own  use;  and,  indeed,  I  was  sadly  in  need  of  it. 
We  did  not  disturb  Miss  Harborough's  cabin, 
having  decided  to  let  her  accompany  us  on  the 
next  trip,  when  she  could  gather  up  her  own 
belongings. 

"There  seems  to  be  nothing  else  that  can  be 
of  use  to  us,"  said  Mr.  Harborough,  glancing 
around  the  cabin. 

"Oh,  but  why  not  take  the  chairs?  They  are 
fastened  to  the  floor  of  the  cabin,  but  there 
must  be  tools  on  board  in  the  carpenter's  kit, 
with  which  we  can  easily  remove  them.  And, 
then,  the  charts,  the  chronometer  and  the  com- 
pass. Who  knows  but  that  they  may  be  of 
great  use  to  us?  I  am  sure  the  compass  would, 
at  least." 

"That  is  true,"  he  replied;  "I  fear  that  I  am 
not  very  used  to  being  a  castaway." 

"A  few  months  will  accustom  you  to  such  an 
existence,"  I  replied. 


202  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

So  we  went  forward  and  found  the  carpenter's 
chest,  from  which  we  took  all  the  tools  neces- 
sary to  remove  the  cabin  chairs,  and  the  com- 
pass. These,  with  the  chronometer  and  the 
clothing,  we  deposited  together  in  the  cabin. 
Next  we  set  about  collecting  all  the  small  sized 
rope  and  all  the  cooking  utensils  in  the  galley, 
which  we  placed  with  the  cabin  crockery.  We 
debated  whether  it  would  be  advisable  to  at- 
tempt  to  remove  the  galley  stove  to  the  shore; 
but,  because  of  its  weight  and  the  consequent 
great  difficulty  in  removing  it,  we  abandoned 
the  idea.  As  we  moved  about  the  deck  we 
could  see  Miss  Harborough  by  the  beach,  and 
we  frequently  signalled  to  her,  fearing  that  she 
might  be  lonesome  alone,  amid  such  strange 
surroundings. 

As  I  stood  gazing  at  the  beautiful  island, 
densely  covered  with  tropical  vegetation,  radi- 
ant with  golden  light,  I  made  out  the  mountain 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  203 

on  which  I  had  erected  the  beacon,  which  I 
could  dimly  see.  I  called  Mr.  Harborough's 
attention  to  it,  and  expressed  my  disappoint- 
ment that  it  was  so  dimly  visible;  but  when  I 
reflected  that  the  mountain  was  much  nearer 
the  east  coast,  I  took  a  brighter  view  of  it,  for  I 
believed  that  the  island  must  be  one  of  the  Vir- 
gin Islands;  and,  if  so,  it  must  be  one  of  the 
most  easterly.  Still  I  could  not  make  up  my 
mind  what  the  land  I  had  sighted  far  to  the 
eastward  from  the  mountain  top  might  be.  If 
it  was  one  of  the  northern  Leeward  Islands, 
then  we  could  not  be  far  out  of  the  track  of 
vessels.  In  this  case  the  beacon  must,  sooner 
or  later,  be  seen  from  some  passing  ship. 

Overhauling  the  stores  we  found  quantities 
of  provisions,  canned  and  dried  fruits,  salt,  half 
a  barrel  of  salted  beef,  nearly  two  barrels  of 
flour,  a  great  quantity  of  sweet  potatoes  and 
several  gross  of  matches.  Indeed,  nothing 
seemed  to  be  lacking. 


204  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

We  now  set  about  loading  the  raft,  lowering 
the  different  articles  over  the  side  by  means  of 
a  rope,  distributing  the  weight  over  the  raft. 
We  loaded  it  until  it  settled  to  within  a  foot  of 
the  top,  and  a  great  quantity  of  freight  it  took. 
At  this  rate  it  would  require  but  few  trips  to 
complete  the  work.  Taking  the  clothing  aboard 
we  started  ashore,  which  we  reached  without 
accident,  though  it  required  considerably  more 
time  to  scull  the  heavily  loaded  raft.  Being  so 
deeply  laden,  it  grounded  several  feet  from  the 
beach,  so  that  in  unloading  it,  we  had  to  wade 
back  and  forth  through  the  water. 

Everything  was  stored  snugly  in  the  house 
before  sundown. 

On  the  morning  following  we  made  another 
early  start  for  the  wreck,  Miss  Harborough  with 
us  this  time.  As  before,  the  raft  was  made  fast 
to  the  bow-sprit,  and  Miss  Harborough  was 
hoisted   aboard  in   a  bo'sn's  chair.      We   pro- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  205 

ceeded  to  load  the  raft,  intending  to  make  two 
trips  during  the  day.  This  was  soon  accom- 
plished, and  taking  the  compass  and  the  chro- 
nometer, as  well  as  Miss  Harborough's  trunk, 
we  were  about  to  cast  off,  when,  with  an  excla- 
mation, Mr.  Harborough  grasped  the  chains  and 
disappeared  on  deck,  presently  returning  with 
face  aglow,  carrying  in  each  hand  a  gun.  Such 
good  fortune  was  almost  overpowering,  for  with 
guns  we  could  not  only  defend  ourselves  effec- 
tively, if  necessary,  but  easily  secure  plenty  of 
game.  He  explained  that  there  was  a  quantity 
of  cartridges  for  the  rifle  as  well  as  considerable 
ammunition  for  the  shotrgun,  in  the  cabin. 
Each  day  we  continued  to  make  one  or  two 
trips  to  the  vessel,  the  weather  fortunately  con- 
tinuing calm,  with  the  result  that  we  stripped 
her  of  everything  that  we  could  move,  and  that 
could  possible  be  of  use  to  us.  We  soon  discov- 
ered that  we  could  store  in  the  house  only  such 


206  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

articles  as  there  would  constantly  be  use  for,  so 
we  proceeded  to  build  another  addition  from 
the  other  side,  opposite  Miss  Harbor ough's 
apartment,  to  serve  exclusively  as  a  store-room. 
Thus  our  abode  extended  to  quite  a  pretentious 
establishment.  The  raft,  no  longer  in  use,  we 
hauled  up  among  the  cocoanut  palms.  We  had 
been  so  busy  since  the  barkentine  came  ashore 
that  we  had  not  been  able  to  extend  the  stock- 
ade around  the  two  additions  to  the  house. 
This  we  proceeded  to  do,  following  the  same 
plan  of  construction  as  I  had  previously  done, 
joining  it  to  the  main  structure  at  the  four  cor- 
ners, thus  making  an  enclosure  of  quite  twice 
the  area  of  the  original  compound.  We  planted 
yam  vines  all  around  the  new  stockade,  varying 
our  labors  by  making  trips  to  the  pool  for  pro- 
visions, going  on  excursions  into  the  forest,  but 
never  far  away,  securing  pigeons  with  the  aid 
of  the  shot-gun,  but  seeing  no  animals,  and  fish- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  207 

ing  in  the  stream.  We  lived  sumptuously,  with 
the  fruit  and  the  plentiful  supplies  from  the 
vessel.  At  my  suggestion,  we  planted  a  quan- 
tity of  sweet  potatoes,  selecting  a  sunny  spot 
near  the  stream,  breaking  up  the  ground  with 
poles  sharpened  with  the  aid  of  a  good  axe, 
which  we  found  in  the  carpenter's  kit.  Indeed, 
we  found  several  tools,  such  as  a  bit,  auger,  two 
saws;  and  a  hammer  that  were  of  great  use  to 
us;  and  fortunately  a  few  nails.  I  had  some 
doubt  as  to  the  success  of  our  sweet  potato 
experiment,  believing  that  the  tropical  climate 
would  prove  too  warm  for  them,  remembering 
that  they  flourish  to  the  greatest  perfection  in 
the  eastern-central  part  of  our  own  country. 
However,  the  experiment  was  worth  trying  in 
the  interest  of  future  food  supplies.  We  had, 
from  the  first,  kept  a  close  watch  along  the 
shore  all  along  the  bay,  in  case  bodies  of  other 
members  of  the  barkentine's  crew  came  ashore. 


208  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

But  none  did,  and,  with  the  axe,  we  hewed  a 
rude  head-board  from  a  hard-wood  plank  which 
we  had  brought  from  the  vessel,  for  the  grave 
of  the  man  whom  we  had  buried,  carving 
thereon  the  name  "William  Clayton,"  together 
with  the  day  and  year  of  his  death. 

We  discussed  the  advisability  of  setting  fire 
to  the  wreck,  but  after  mature  consideration  we 
decided  that  so  long  as  it  remained  intact,  it 
might  serve  to  attract  attention  should  a  vessel 
be  passing,  and  thus  lead  to  our  rescue. 

We  had  much  leisure,  and  I  took  occasion  to 
make  known  a  project  which  I  had  in  mind 
from  the  first,  that  of  making  a  trip  to  the 
mountain.  For  one  thing  I  wished  to  see  if 
the  beacon  had  withstood  the  hurricane;  and, 
more  than  all,  an  idea  had  taken  possession  of 
me,  growing  stronger  every  day,  that  a  careful 
investigation  around  the  ruined  wall  might  lead 
to  interesting,  and,  perhaps,  important  revela- 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  209 

tions.  My  companions  were  delighted  with  the 
prospect,  and  we  at  once  set  about  making 
preparations  for  the  journey;  and  here  a  new 
idea  suggested  itself.  We  must  carry  with  us 
as  large  a  quantity  of  provisions  as  possible,  and 
how  could  this  be  accomplished?  We  would 
make  knapsacks  from  sail-cloth.  Why  had  we 
not  thought  to  bring  the  sails  of  the  barkentine 
ashore  ?  The  raft  was  again  launched,  and  we 
removed  the  smaller  sails  from  the  vessel ;  and, 
by  searching  among  the  seamen's  dunnage  in 
the  forecastle,  we  found  several  sailors'  needles 
and  twine.  All  working  together,  we  soon 
fashioned  two  square  bags,  with  straps  of  sev- 
eral thicknesses  of  cloth,  with  which  to  sling 
them  upon  our  backs.  The  next  most  impor- 
tant thing  was  the  selection  of  the  articles  to  be 
carried  with  us.  Provisions  must  form  the  bulk 
of  the  packs,  and  we  made  the  selection  with 
the  greatest  care.     We  also  proposed  to  take 


210  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

along  the  axe,  a  coil  of  rope,  the  ship's  compass, 
which  was  removed  from  the  gimbals,  and,  of 
course,  the  two  guns,  Mr.  Harborough  carrying 
the  rifle,  while  I  took  the  shot-gun.  We  made 
belts  from  the  sail-cloth  for  carrying  ammuni- 
tion. The  axe  formed  part  of  my  equipment. 
A  light  bundle  of  clothing  was  made  up  for  Miss 
Harborough  who  also  took  charge  of  Puff,  who 
was  made  fast  to  her  arm  by  a  piece  of  twine. 
Everything  was  made  snug  in  the  house,  and 
the  remaining  sail-cloth  was  carefully  spread 
over  the  stores  to  be  left  behind.  The  door 
was  securely  closed,  and  one  bright  morning  we 
were  ready  to  start,  first  taking,  by  means  of 
the  compass,  the  bearings  of  the  mountain.  It 
was  my  intention  to  proceed  by  a  different 
route  from  those  I  had  followed  in  going  to  and 
returning  from  the  mountain,  for  two  reasons. 
One  was  that  I  wished  to  further  explore  the 
island,  which  a  new  route  would  enable  me  to 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  211 

do,  and  the  other  was  that  a  direct  route 
through  the  forest  would  be  much  shorter, 
requiring  us  to  encamp  but  one  night.  My 
companions  fully  agreed  with  this  idea.  The 
stream  was  followed  as  far  as  the  pool,  where 
we  entered  the  forest.  It  consisted  of  many 
varieties  of  trees,  one  kind  being  of  large  size, 
with  a  smooth,  straight  trunk,  towering  to  a 
great  height,  without  branches.  This,  Mr.  Har- 
borough  said,  was  the  mahogany  tree. 

Great  lianas  entwined  the  trees  and  many 
creepers,  some  bearing  exquisite  blossoms  that 
called  forth  exclamations  of  delight  from  Miss 
Harborough,  depended  from  the  branches;  and 
in  some  places  the  vegetation  was  so  dense  that 
we  were  compelled  to  cut  a  way  with  the  axe. 
At  Mr.  Harborough' s  suggestion  and  at  her 
request  I  ceased  to  address  his  daughter  as  Miss 
Harborough,  and  thereafter  called  her  Marjorie, 
as  did  her  father;  for,  as  they  both  said,  we 


212  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

were  exiles  together,  and  formality  was  super- 
fluous. We  were  in  excellent  spirits  and  made 
rapid  progress.  When  the  sun  was  in  the 
zenith,  as  we  could  see  by  an  occasional  glimpse 
through  an  opening  in  the  dense  canopy  above 
us,  we  paused  by  a  tiny  stream  of  clear  water 
for  refreshments  and  a  short  rest.  Our  repast 
finished,  while  Mr.  Harborough  and  I  conversed 
concerning  the  present  and  the  future,  Marjorie 
wandered  away  a  short  distance,  searching  for 
new  and  beautiful  flowers.  Just  as  we  rose  to 
resume  the  march,  and  were  about  to  call  her, 
we  heard  an  agonizing  scream  coming  from  the 
forest  at  no  great  distance  away.  It  was  clear 
that  something  had  befallen  Marjorie.  Grasp- 
ing the  guns,  we  dashed  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated by  her  cries,  and  presently  we  saw  her 
dress  through  the  undergrowth.  As  we  hast- 
ened forward  a  sight  met  our  eyes  which  caused 
us  to  come   to  a  sudden  halt  and  to  gaze  in 


We  *  *  raised  our  guns,  and  fired,"1' 


A  YANKEE    CttUSOE.  218 

horror  at  the  spectacle  before  us;  for  there  was 
Marjorie,  crying  out  no  longer,  her  limp  body 
in  the  grasp  of  what  looked  like  a  dark,  shriv- 
elled-up  old  man. 

It  seemed  to  be  four  or  five  feet  tall,  with  a 
face  almost  black,  its  body  covered  with  short 
hair.  The  limbs  were  long,  small,  and  the  legs 
were  bent.  We  both  shouted,  at  which  the 
monster  released  Marjorie,  allowing  her  to  fall 
to  the  ground,  while  it  stood  motionless,  look- 
at  us,  but  making  no  sound.  Almost  at  the 
same  instant  it  stooped  and  grasped  a  huge  club 
which  lay  at  its  feet.  We  waited  no  longer, 
and  both  raised  our  guns  and  fired.  Evidently 
our  excitement  disconcerted  our  aim,  for  the 
monster,  without  giving  forth  a  sound,  sprang 
to  the  great  tree  near  which  it  stood  and  began 
to  climb  it  rapidly,  keeping  to  the  side  opposite 
to  us.  We  hastened  around,  and  Mr.  Harbo- 
rough  fired  another  shot  from  his  rifle,  but  with- 


214  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

out  apparent  effect,  for  the  creature  quickly 
reached  the  branches  and  disappeared. 

We  hastened  to  Marjorie  who  had  recovered 
from  her  swoon,  and  was  able  to  give  us  an 
account  of  her  adventure.  There  was  little  for 
her  to  tell.  She  was  walking  leisurely  along, 
stopping  to  admire  a  flower  or  a  brilliant  but- 
terfly, when,  without  warning,  she  felt  herself 
in  the  grasp  of  the  horrible  creature.  She 
screamed  and  then  fainted.  We  were  unable 
to  conjecture  what  sort  of  a  creature  it  might 
be,  for  we  were  not  aware  that  the  tropical 
regions  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  contained 
large  apes. 

While  we  were  discussing  the  matter,  I  re- 
membered a  story  which  I  had  read  years  before 
about  a  creature  found  in  the  depths  of  the 
South  American  forest,  which  was  called  a 
"Burghree."  As  I  recollected  the  story,  the 
description  of   the   "Burghree"    corresponded 


A    YANKEE    CRUSOE.  215 

very  nearly  to  the  monster  we  had  just  encoun- 
tered. Marjorie,  having  now  recovered,  al- 
though she  was  still  somewhat  weak,  we  again 
went  to  the  tree  and  peered  sharply  among  the 
branches. 

"It  seems  to  me/'  said  Mr.  Harborough  at 
length,  "that  I  see  something  which  looks  like 
a  great  nest,  far  up  in  the  tree-top. 

I  looked  more  closely  and  also  saw  it. 

Clearly  this  was  the  home  of  the  strange 
creature,  and  then  I  recollected  that  the  story 
of  the  "Burghree"  corresponded  almost  exactly 
to  the  present  realization,  for  it  retired  to  a 
great  platform  of  branches  and  grass,  far  up  in 
the  tree-top,  whence  it  hurled  defiance  and  clubs 
at  the  men  below,  while  this  one  uttered  no 
sound.  Another  shot  from  the  rifle  was  with- 
out result,  and  we  decided  that  it  would  be  not 
only  useless  but  folly  to  waste  more  ammuni- 
tion.    Resuming  our  march,  few  words  passed 


216  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE 

between  us  for  a  long  time.  As  for  myself,  I 
was  absorbed  with  my  own  thoughts,  and  Mr. 
Harborough  seemed  to  be  occupied  in  like  man- 
ner. 

Suddenly  I  stopped  and  rested  my  gun  upon 
the  ground. 

"Mr.  Harborough,"  said  I,  "did  you  notice 
that  the  face  of  the  creature  looked  more  like  a 
human  face  than  that  of  an  ape,  and  that  the 
feet  and  hands  seemed  to  be  unlike  an  ape's 
feet  and  hands?" 

"I  noticed  the  face,"  he  answered. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  March  Continued  ;  Arrival  on  the  Mountain. 

As  we  went  on  our  cheerfulness  returned. 

We  saw  occasional  pigeons  and  many  beauti- 
ful plumaged  birds,  among  which  were  parrots 
and  paroquets  that  kept  up  a  noisy  clatter. 
We  also  encountered  a  species  of  brown  and 
yellow  ground-snake  about  two  feet  long,  which 
did  not  appear  to  be  harmful,  as  it  always 
seemed  anxious  to  get  away.  Frogs,  small 
lizards  and  crabs  were  plentiful,  and  I  presume 
some  of  the  latter  were  edible.  Coming  to  a 
thicket  of  thorn-bush  just  as  the  dusk  began  to 
settle  across  our  path,  we  prepared  to  camp  for 

217 


218  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

the  night.  A  square  space  was  cleared  in  the 
thicket,  some  leafy  branches  were  laid  across 
the  top  to  serve  as  a  roof,  wood  was  gathered, 
and  a  fire  was  built  in  front;  and  we  proceeded 
to  roast  a  few  yams  and  two  fat  pigeons  that  I 
had  shot  late  in  the  afternoon;  and  opening  a 
can  of  peaches,  we  made  a  bountiful  repast. 
We  soon  sought  repose,  and,  as  no  sound  save 
the  murmuring  of  the  breeze  through  the  trees 
came  from  the  forest,  sleep  came  quickly  to  all 
of  us.  We  were  aroused  the  next  morning  at 
daybreak  by  Puff  who  was  screaming  at  the  top 
of  his  voice  at  a  flock  of  wild  parrots  in  the  trees 
above,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  we  were 
again  on  the  march.  We  had  proceeded  only  a 
short  distance  when  we  came  to  a  small  open 
place  covered  with  grass,  and  we  were  about  to 
skirt  its  edge  when  close  in  front  of  us  came  an 
angry  "woof." 
.  "Wild   pigs,"  I  cried,  greatly  alarmed,  for, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  219 

from  my  previous  encounter,  I  understood  their 
savage  nature. 

At  the  moment  an  ugly  looking  boar  showed 
his  head  directly  in  front  of  us.  Mr.  Harbo- 
rough  was  about  to  fire,  but  I  restrained  him, 
knowing  that  the  least  disturbance  might  bring 
a  drove  of  these  savage  beasts  upon  us. 

"Let  us  quietly  withdraw  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble," I  said,  "and  make  a  detour  of  the  forest." 

This  plan  was  carried  out,  and,  to  my  great 
relief,  successfully,  for  the  boar  disappeared  in 
the  grass,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  it. 

Having  the  compass,  we  were  able  to  keep 
the  right  direction,  pushing  forward  rapidly, 
only  stopping  a  short  time  at  mid-day  for  din- 
ner, and  the  sun  was  yet  high  in  the  heavens 
when  we  came  to  the  first  rising  ground,  and  I 
knew  that  we  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain. 

Presently  I  saw  familiar  land-marks,  and  I 


220  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

was  able  to  lead  the  way  to  the  top.  The  bea- 
con was  standing  exactly  as  I  had  left  it.  We 
proceeded  to  my  cave-dwelling,  where  every- 
thing was  found  pretty  much  as  I  had  left  it, 
except  that  the  barricade  before  the  door 
showed  some  decay.  *  There  was  still  some  time 
before  nightfall,  during  which,  after  depositing 
our  sacks  within,  we  cut  a  quantity  of  grass  for 
beds  and  gathered  a  quantity  of  fire-wood.  We 
also  partitioned  off  one  corner  of  the  room  for 
Marjorie,  fixing  a  bamboo  across,  to  which  hung 
cocoanut  cloth  which  we  found  in  abundance  a 
short  distance  away,  fastening  it  together  with 
pegs,  and  thus  we  were  comfortably  settled  soon 
after  our  arrival;  and,  as  we  enjoyed  the  even- 
ing meal,  we  talked  over  future  plans.  I  prom- 
ised to  show  my  companions  the  ruined  wall  in 
the  morning,  as  we  retired  to  rest. 

The  orange  trees  and  banana  plants  near  the 
ruin  were  still  thrifty  and  bore  abundant  fruit, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  221 

and  we  regaled  ourselves  as  I  showed  my  com- 
panions the  old  wall.  Mr.  Harborough  took  the 
greatest  interest  in  it,  and  we  speculated  as  to 
its  origin.  Other  matters,  however,  engaged 
our  attention  from  day  to  day.  The  compass 
was  taken  to  the  foot  of  the  beacon,  and  the 
bearings  of  the  land  which  I  had  discovered  in 
the  distance  accurately  determined. 

It  lay  exactly  southeast,  half  east,  from  where 
we  stood. 

"In  my  opinion,"  said  Mr.  Harborough,  "this 
small  island  where  we  now  are  is  one  of  the 
most  northeasterly  of  the  Virgin  Islands,  and 
that  land  in  the  distance  is  one  of  the  same 
group." 

"But,"  I  said,  "if  that  is  the  case  should  we 
not  be  able  to  see  some  of  the  other  islands  to 
the  westward?"  I  was  aware  that  there  were 
several  islands  in  the  Virgin  Group. 

"Not  necessarily,"  he  answered,  "for  they  lie 
very  low  on  the  ocean." 


222  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

We  spent  much  time  about  the  beacon,  im- 
proving our  habitation,  in  gathering  fruit  and 
shooting  pigeons  for  our  larder;  and  we  took 
twelve  days  in  making  a  trip  to  the  low  south- 
east coast,  marching  along  the  shore  and 
returning  from  the  northeast.  We  found  animal 
life  even  scarcer  than  on  the  west  side.  Birds 
were  not  so  plentiful,  though  we  found  some 
pigeons,  and  saw  plenty  of  little  green  lizards 
and  crabs.  We  made  no  discoveries  that  prom- 
ised to  be  of  use  to  us.  On  our  return  I  took 
my  companions  to  the  mouth  of  the  guano  cave, 
but  Marjorie  declined  to  enter  and  Mr.  Har- 
borough  did  not  appear  anxious  to  do  so.  We 
made  frequent  trips  to  the  ruined  wall,  and 
searched  the  enclosure  carefully.  The  more  we 
studied  it  the  more  we  were  convinced  that  the 
wall  had  served  as  a  foundation  for  some  struc- 
ture. 

One  day  as  we  were  returning  with  fruit,  Mr. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  223 

Harborough  had  fallen  behind  to  examine  a  spot 
which  had  escaped  attention,  when  we  were 
arrested  by  a  sudden  exclamation  from  him. 
He  had  dropped  upon  his  knees  and  was  eagerly 
clearing  away  the  plants  and  grass  with  his 
hands. 

We  hastened  to  him,  inquiring  what  he  had 
discovered.  He  pointed  to  a  square,  flat  stone. 
It  was  about  four  feet  square  and  seemed  to 
open  like  a  hatchway.  He  had  stepped  upon  it 
and  felt  it  rock,  very  slightly,  beneath  his  weight, 
but  enough  to  attract  his  attention.  Did  the 
stone  conceal  an  opening,  the  entrance  to  an 
ancient  dungeon,  or  a  treasure  vault?  We 
were  nearly  overcome  with  excitement,  not  un- 
mixed with  awe,  and  I  confess  to  a  feeling  of 
dread  as  I  contemplated  what  might  be  below  if 
the  stone  really  covered  an  opening  to  a  subter- 
ranean chamber. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

An  Ancient  Ruin;  A    Wonderful  Discovery. 

The  edges  of  the  opening,  around  the  stone, 
were  crumbled  and  cracked,  and  after  scraping 
away  the  accumulation  of  moss  and  mold  we 
found  that  we  were  able  to  remove  a  large  piece 
of  rock  which  left  a  space  of  sufficient  depth  to 
receive  a  lever.  We  hastened  to  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  where  we  selected  a  small  tree  of  hard 
wood,  which  we  felled ;  and  from  it  we  made  a 
lever  about  fifteen  feet  in  length.  The  larger 
end  was  flattened  a  little  with  the  axe,  in  order 
that  it  should  fit  closely  against  the  stone  in 
prying  it  up. 

224 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  225 

We  next  moved  a  large  stone  from  the  wall, 
which  we  placed  about  three  feet  from  the  aper- 
ture which  was  to  receive  the  lever,  to  act  as  a 
fulcrum.  Then  we  lifted  the  great  lever,  placed 
the  flattened  end  into  the  aperture,  let  it  rest 
against  the  stone  fulcrum,  and  reaching  up  as 
near  the  elevated  end  of  the  lever  as  possible, 
brought  our  combined  weight  to  bear  upon  it. 

The  flat  stone  moved  slowly  upward,  and 
Marjorie,  who  stood  near,  in  her  eagerness,  bent 
over  the  opening.  Almost  at  the  same  moment 
she  started  violently  back,  gasping  for  breath. 
The  foul  air,  which  rushed  from  the  opening, 
had  nearly  suffocated  her. 

Working  together  nearer  the  upper  end  of  the 
lever,  the  stone  was  lifted  a  little  higher  and 
Mr.  Harborough  was  able  to  hold  it  while  I 
placed  a  rock  under  the  stone,  which  prevented 
it  from  falling  back  when  the  lever  was  released. 

We  now  gathered  around  the  opening  which 


£26  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

was  not  yet  wide  enough  to  enable  us  to  see  far 
below;  but  to  our  great  astonishment  we  saw 
that  a  flight  of  stone  steps  led  downward. 
Below  all  was  dark.  Foul  air  still  came  from 
the  opening. 

"We  must  wait  for  the  air  to  purify  before 
entering,"  I  said;  "and,  meanwhile,  we  will  pro- 
cure lights." 

"Why  in  the  world  did  we  not  remove  the 
cabin  lamps  from  the  vessel?"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Harborough,  "If  we  only  had  them  now." 

"Come  to  the  house,"  I  said,  "and  I  will  show 
you  how  we  will  procure  a  light." 

Hastening  to  the  house  I  opened  my  knap- 
sack and  held  up  the  two  binnacle  lamps  for  the 
inspection  of  my  companions,  much  to  their 
amazement. 

Both  were  filled  with  oil,  very  little  of  which 
had  escaped,  as  I  had  wrapped  strips  of  sail- 
cloth tightly  around  them. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  227 

In  answer  to  their  inquiring  looks,  I  reminded 
them  that  I  had,  for  a  long  time,  believed  that 
some  such  discovery  as  the  present  one  might 
be  made,  and  that  I  had,  unknown  to  them, 
packed  the  binnacle  lamps  which  had  proved  to 
be  a  fortunate  act  on  my  part. 

Taking  them,  with  plenty  of  matches,  we 
returned  to  the  ruin.  Lighting  a  wisp  of  dry 
grass,  I  threw  it  into  the  opening.  It  fell  to  the 
bottom,  where  it  continued  to  burn  brightly, 
showing  that  the  air  was  now  pure.  In  the 
momentary  glare  of  the  burning  grass,  we  saw 
that  the  opening  was  about  eight  feet  deep. 

We  now  procured  another  stone  from  the 
wall,  which  we  placed  under  the  lever,  increas- 
ing the  height  of  the  fulcrum  so  that  we  were 
able  to  lift  the  stone  still  further;  and  by  push- 
ing the  lever  around  toward  one  side  we  quickly 
swung  the  stone  from  the  opening  until  it  rested 
at  one  side. 


228  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Lighting  the  lamps,  we  cautiously  descended 
the  stone  stairs.  They  were  covered  with  what 
seemed  to  be  finely  pulverized  mould  which 
had  worked  down  from  above ;  but  the  damp- 
ness, incident  to  an  underground  chamber  ren- 
dered the  steps  somewhat  slippery,  so  we  had 
to  descend  carefully.  There  were  ten  steps. 
Reaching  the  bottom,  Mr.  Harborough  and  my- 
self leading  and  Marjorie  bringing  up  the  rear, 
we  found  ourselves  standing  upon  a  solid  floor, 
deeply  covered  with  fine  mould,  but  quite  dry. 
The  floor  of  the  chamber  was  evidently  com- 
posed of  stone,  laid  very  closely,  without  mortar. 
The  roof  was  made  of  great  flat  stones,  sup- 
ported by  two  rows  of  pillars  made  of  square 
blocks  of  stone,  extending  the  length  of  the 
chamber.  The  walls,  roof,  pillars  and  floor  were 
all  thickly  covered  with  dust.  Searching  along 
the  walls,  we  discovered,  at  the  further  end, 
four  niches  sunk  into  the  wall  about  five  feet, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  229 

and  into  the  rear  wall  of  each  niche,  there  was 
fixed  a  massive  iron  staple,  to  which  was  fast- 
ened an  iron  chain  of  crnde  workmanship.  At 
the  end  of  each  chain  there  was  a  rough  iron 
collar  which  was  evidently  designed  to  be  fastr 
ened  with  a  rivet.  Stepping  into  one  of  the 
niches,  we  discovered  that  the  floor  of  it  was 
thickly  studded  with  sharp  iron  spikes  which 
we  found,  on  clearing  away  the  dust,  to  be 
about  two  inches  in  height.  The  purpose  of 
the  niches  was  apparent;  they  were  unquestion- 
ably designed  as  places  of  torture.  Well  must 
they  have  served  their  purpose ;  for  the  wretched 
victim  who,  on  account  of  the  short  chain  fastr 
ened  to  his  neck,  could  not  lie  down,  was  com- 
pelled to  stand  constantly-  upon  the  sharp 
pointed  spikes  which  would  pierce  and  cruelly 
lacerate  the  feet. 

To  what  period  of  the  New  World's  history 
this  dungeon  belonged  we  could  not  even  con- 


230  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

jecture;  but,  judging  from  the  style  of  architec- 
ture and  the  cunningly  devised  method  of  tor- 
ture, Mr.  Harborough,  who  had  seen  the  ruined 
forts  along  the  Spanish  Main,  had  no  doubt  that 
this  chamber  was  connected,  in  some  way,  with 
the  old  Castilian  days  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

The  west  wall  seemed  to  be  perfectly  smooth 
and  unbroken;  but  on  the  east  side  of  the  cham- 
ber we  found  a  square  stone,  measuring  some- 
thing like  two  feet  each  way,  being  almost  a 
perfect  cube,  protruding  half  way  from  the  wall. 
This  was  easily  removed,  and  thrusting  in  one 
of  the  lamps,  we  saw  what  appeared  to  be  a 
square  chest.  Brushing  away  the  dust  which 
covered  the  end  of  the  chest  next  to  us,  we  saw 
that  it  was  of  wood,  bound  with  bands  of  iron, 
the  whole  being  thickly  studded  with  nails. 

"A  treasure  chest,"  exclaimed  Marjorie;  oh, 
it  seems  like  the  stories  of  the  buccaneers." 

An  iron  ring  was  fastened  to  the  chest,  but 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  231 

when  we  took  hold  of  it  and  tried  to  draw  the 
chest  toward  us,  we  found  it  to  be  so  heavy 
that  we  were  unable  to  stir  it.  So  I  went  to 
procure  a  lever  which  I  cut  from  a  small  tree 
near  the  wall,  and  returned  with  it  to  the  cham- 
ber One  end  of  the  lever  was  inserted,  upward 
through  the  ring  of  the  chest  and  we  lifted  with 
our  combined  strength. 

The  chest  was  raised  slightly,  and  then  the 
iron  bands,  eaten  by  years  of  rust,  broke,  and 
the  chest,  rotten  with  age,  fell  apart. 

Marjorie  was  holding  one  of  the  lamps  so  as 
to  illuminate  the  chest,  and,  as  it  broke  open, 
she  almost  dropped  it,  while  Mr.  Harborough 
and  I  dropped  the  lever  and  gazed  at  the  broken 
chest  and  at  each  other  in  speechless  astonish- 
ment; for  the  aperture  seemed  to  be  full  of  gold 
coins. 

We  had  discovered  a  treasure  chest,  indeed. 
The  coins  were  of  several  sizes,  and  all  were 


232  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

covered  with  a  brownish  dust.  But  gold  they 
were,  and  there  were  thousands  and  thousands 
of  them. 

We  examined  many  of  the  coins,  on  which 
the  legends  were  plainly  legible.  Each  one 
bore  a  male  head  on  one  side,  with  dates  rang- 
ing from  1517  to  1540;  and  on  the  reverse, 
this  superscription: — "Carlos  I.,  Espana:  Rex" 
—  Charles  I.,  King  of  Spain.  We  concluded 
that  we  had  discovered  a  favorite  trysting  place 
of  sea-rovers  who  sailed  these  waters  carrying 
death  and  desolation  afloat  and  ashore  under  the 
protection  of  royal  authority,  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  Spanish  treasury  should  be 
enriched  thereby. 

Here,  before  us,  with  no  one  else  to  claim  it, 
was  wealth  beyond  our  power  to  estimate. 

"It  is  utterly  useless  to  us  here,"  said  Mr. 
Harborough,  as  we  discussed  the  importance  of 
our  discovery. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  233 

"True/'  I  replied,  "but  as  we  have  no  inten- 
tion of  always  remaining  on  this  island,  it  may 
prove  to  be  of  great  service  to  us.  To  this  end 
we  must  consider  what  immediate  disposal  we 
will  make  of  all  this  wealth." 

"And,"  I  continued,  as  we  replaced  the  stone  in 
the  aperture  and  withdrew  from  the  chamber,  "it 
seems  to  me  that  the  first  step  toward  ensuring 
to  ourselves  the  future  enjoyment  of  all  this 
wealth,  should  be  to  transport  it  to  the  cove 
and  store  it  in  our  house." 

This  proposition  of  mine  was  the  beginning 
of  much  discussion  and  consideration  for  several 
days  thereafter,  during  which  it  was  definitely 
decided  that  the  gold  must  be  transported  to 
our  house  at  the  cove;  and  we  began  to  consider 
how  this  task,  not  a  trifling  one,  could  be  accom- 
plished. 

Clearly  there  was  but  one  sure  and  safe  way, 
and  that,  to  carry  it  there  ourselves. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"  The  G-olden  Treasure  ;  "  Its  Removal. 

It  was  finally  settled  that  we  would  transport 
the  golden  treasure  to  Sargent,  at  the  cove,  in 
the  knapsacks  on  our  backs.  To  do  this  would 
require  several  journeys  through  the  forest;  but 
as  time  was  no  object  to  us,  what  more  could 
we  ask  than  to  be  able,  during  our  exile,  to  so 
easily  acquire  wealth  which  would  render  us 
independent  for  life;  for  rescued  we  must 
surely  be,  sooner  or  later. 

We  decided  that  no  part  of  the  walls  should 
remain  uninspected.  Every  square  foot  of  it 
was  carefully  examined,  but  we  found  no  indi- 

234 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  235 

cations  of  other  openings.  One  day,  however, 
while  looking  at  the  east  wall,  I  noticed  one  of 
the  stones  which  seemed  to  be  more  loosely  set 
into  the  wall  than  any  of  the  others;  and  on 
examining  it  more  closely,  the  upper  edge 
appeared  to  be  chipped  as  though  some  pointed 
instrument  had  been  inserted.  It  at  once  oc- 
curred to  me  that  this  may  have  been  caused  by 
prying  the  stone  out — in  other  words,  I  mis- 
trusted that  the  stone  might  conceal  the  entrance 
to  another  chamber. 

We  examined  it  closely  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  would  be  worth  while  to  remove 
the  stone.  We  worked  at  it  for  several  days 
without  making  any  perceptible  impression. 

It  was  too  heavy  and  we  could  devise  no 
appliance  to  assist  us  materially.  Finally  it 
occurred  to  me  that  we  might  remove  a  flag- 
stone of  the  floor,  dig  under  the  stone  and  com- 
pel it  to  drop  from  its  place.     We  soon  discov- 


236  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

ered,  however,  that  it  rested  upon  the  flag-stone 
next  to  it.  Not  to  abandon  the  project,  we  at 
last  succeeded  in  removing  the  second  flag-stone 
from  the  wall,  which  enabled  us  to  excavate  the 
earth  from  beneath  the  flag-stone  next  to  the 
wall.  This  we  accomplished  after  a  great  deal 
of  hard  work,  for  our  only  excavating  tools  con- 
sisted of  sharpened  and  flattened  pieces  of  wood. 
At  last,  however,  the  flag-stone  settled  into  the 
the  excavation  and  the  stone  in  this  way  fell 
outward.  To  our  great  astonishment  this  was 
followed  by  a  rush  of  air  from  the  aperture.  We 
did  not,  at  first,  know  what  to  make  of  this,  but 
we  shortly  agreed  that  we  had  found  the  en- 
trance to  an  underground  passage  leading  to  the 
open  air. 

Indeed  this  idea  seemed  quite  reasonable,  for 
we  had  often  read  of  such  passages  in  connec- 
tion with  the  strongholds  of  the  early  days; 
either  as  a  means  of  offence  or  defence,  or  of 
escape. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  237 

Taking  the  two  lamps  I  preceded  Mr.  Harbo- 
rough  into  the  passage,  Marjorie  bringing  up 
the  rear.  From  the  first  it  was  evident  that  the 
passage  was  not  artificial,  but  a  natural  cavern. 
Indeed  as  we  proceeded  it  proved  to  be  a  simple 
guano  cave,  the  stalactites  being  grimy  and  the 
stalagmites  buried  beneath  long  years  accumu- 
lations of  guano.  In  its  general  character  it 
did  not  differ  materially  from  the  cave  which  I 
had  discovered  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain 
during  my  former  sojourn.  The  ceiling  of  this 
one,  however,  was  higher  so  that  we  were  able 
to  walk  upright;  and  it  had  no  windings.  Pro- 
ceeding a  few  rods  we  came  to  a  second  cham- 
ber, leading  off  at  right  angles;  but  the  opening 
was  so  small  that  we  would  have  had  to  crawl 
through  it  and  we  did  not  consider  it  worth 
while  to  enter  it,  at  present,  at  least.  The 
thought  occurred  to  me  that  the  passage  con- 
nected this  cavern  with  the  one  which  I  had 


238  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

previously  discovered;  for,  as  I  thought  the 
matter  over,  I  believed  that  the  two  must  run 
nearly  parallel.  Myriads  of  bats  flitted  about, 
almost  flying  against  our  faces,  and  several 
times  nearly  extinguishing  our  lamps.  In  a 
few  minutes  we  came  to  a  fair-sized  chamber, 
nearly  circular  and  perhaps  a  dozen  feet  in 
diameter;  and  as  we  entered  it  we  were  aston- 
ished to  find  that  it  was  partially  illumined  by 
daylight.  Stranger  still,  mounted  on  two  huge 
wooden  blocks  were  two  brass  cannon,  pointing 
away  from  us. 

"An  ingenious  fortification,"  remarked  Mr. 
Harborough. 

"A  masked  battery"  said  Marjorie. 

We  now  examined  the  guns  closely.  They 
were  covered  with  a  greenish  corrosion,  and 
were,  as  I  have  said,  brass.  They  were  of 
exactly  the  same  size,  about  four-inch,  and  on 
the  breech  of  each  was  stamped  the  following, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  289 

together  with  the  arms  of  Spain:  "Espana: 
1512."  We  saw  that  we  had  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  which  was  thickly  filled  with  a  mass 
of  bushes  and  creepers.  We  resolved  to  clear 
away  the  obstruction  at  once,  and  I  returned  to 
the  chamber  for  the  axe.  With  it  and  our 
knives  we  soon  cleared  away  the  vegetable 
growths,  and  behold,  we  stood  on  the  side  of 
the  mountain  a  few  yards  from  the  mouth  of 
cave,  overlooking  the  ocean  to  the  eastward. 
The  purpose  of  the  guns  was  quite  apparent. 
They  commanded  the  approach  to  the  moun- 
tain, and  to  an  advancing  enemy  were  utterly 
invisible,  as  a  shelf  of  rock  hid  the  entrance 
from  below.  This  latter  discovery  did  not 
promise  to  be  of  any  special  importance  to  us, 
but  it  was  most  interesting.  Our  whole  effort, 
now,  was  put  forth  toward  transporting  the  gold 
to  the  cove  on  the  west  coast;  and  placing  as 
many  of  the  coins  in  each  knapsack  as  we  could 


240  A  YANKEE   CRUSOE. 

each  carry  comfortably,  we  packed  enough  pro- 
visions to  last  at  least  two  days,  and  set  out.  As 
we  had  done  on  the  journey  to  the  mountains, 
we  followed  the  edge  of  the  forest  making  a 
short  detour,  when  about  half  way,  to  avoid  a 
possible  encounter  with  the  wild  pigs.  Mr. 
Harborough  and  myself  would  have  liked  very 
much  to  risk  an  encounter  with  them,  but  the 
safety  of  Marjorie  was  our  first  consideration, 
and  these  animals  were  very  fierce.  So  as  we 
had  grave  doubts  as  to  their  desirability  for  food 
we  decided  to  give  them  a  wide  berth.  Noth- 
ing occurred  to  give  excitement  to  the  march 
and  toward  the  end  of  the  second  day  we 
reached  the  house  in  the  cove,  where  we  found 
everything  entirely  undisturbed.  We  immedi- 
ately set  to  work  to  make  several  strong  bags 
of  sail-cloth,  each  being  about  two  feet  long  and 
half  as  wide,  in  which  to  store  the  gold.  This 
occupied  us  one  full  day,  and  after  storing  the 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  241 

gold  we  had  brought,  in  a  corner  of  the  hut, 
burying  it  beneath  the  kitchen  utensils,  we  took 
sufficient  provisions  to  last  us  during  the  return 
march  and  set  out.  Numerous  trips  were  made 
to  and  from  the  mountain  which  consumed  sev- 
eral weeks.  Meanwhile  we  had  made  an  addi- 
tional discovery,  almost  as  important  as  the  first. 
As  we  gradually  removed  the  gold  contained  in 
the  chest  we  saw  that  there  was  another  chest  be- 
yond it.  Like  the  first  it  fell  to  pieces  on  being 
moved.  Beyond  it  was  a  solid  wall  of  stone. 
But  the  second  chest  was  not  so  heavy  as  the 
first,  and  it  proved  to  be  only  about  half  filled 
with  gold.  The  rest  was  occupied  with  rolls  of 
manuscript,  all  of  which  fell  to  powder  when 
exposed  to  the  air,  leaving  not  one  scrap  on 
which  the  faded  writing  was  legible. 

At  last  only  what  gold  we  could  carry  away 
on  one  more  trip  remained.  During  our  march 
to  and  fro  from  the  coast  we  had  kept  a  sharp 


242  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

watch  for  the  "wild  man/'  as  we  called  him,  and 
Marjorie   always   kept  very  close  to   us  while 
passing  through  that  part  of  the  forest. 
But  we  saw  no  signs  of  him. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Preparing  for  Departure  ;  Death  of  the  Monster. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  we 
were  to  set  out  with  the  last  packs  of  gold,  the 
sky  was  partly  overcast,  and  far  down  in  the 
eastern  horizon  the  sky  line  was  blended  into  a 
leaden  haze,  which  gradually  disappeared  as  the 
sun  ascended  toward  the  zenith.  This  I  knew, 
was  a  premonition  of  the  approaching  rainy 
season,  which  I  knew  was  always  preceded  for 
several  weeks  by  a  thin  veil  of  clouds  and  the 
murky  atmosphere  of  the  horizon  in  the  morning. 

This  decided  us  to  make  this  our  last  journey, 
and  to  remain  at  the  cove  after  our  next  arrival 

243 


244  A  YANKEE  CRUSOE. 

there;  for  there  we  were  sheltered,  to  a  great 
degree,  from  the  rain  and  our  house  was  much 
more  comfortable  than  the  abode  beneath  the 
rock  on  the  mountain,  which  was  dreary  during 
the  long  rain,  as  I  knew  from  experience.  At 
the  cove  we  had  a  substantial  house,  and,  with 
the  stores  and  utensils  from  the  wreck  we  should 
be  very  comfortably  situated.  And,  beside,  we 
had  gradually,  as  we  marched  back  and  forth, 
evolved  a  scheme  to  remove  some  of  the  deck 
planks  of  the  vessel  and  such  lumber  as  we 
found  available,  and  to  try,  during  the  rainy 
season,  to  construct  a  substantial  boat  in  which 
we  might  venture  to  leave  the  island.  We 
planned  to  construct  a  great  shed,  closed  in  on 
three  sides  and  left  open  at  the  end  facing  the 
beach.  Beneath  this  we  would  lay  the  keel  of 
our  craft  and  test  our  skill  as  ship-builders. 

So,  with  our  guns,  clothing,  such  other  articles 
as  we  wished  to  take  back  with  us,  and  of  course, 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  245 

Puff,  after  closing  the  cliff-house  we  proceeded 
to  the  chamber  beneath  the  ruin  to  pack  the 
remaining  gold.  Our  knapsacks  were  speedily 
filled,  and  we  prepared  to  leave  the  chamber. 

Marjorie  preceded  us  to  the  stairs,  but  scarcely 
had  she  reached  the  first  step  when  she  darted 
back  to  us  shrieking  and  trembling,  her  face 
ashy  pale. 

She  crouched  between  us,  unable  to  speak, 
her  eyes  staring  wildly  toward  the  stone  steps. 
I  sprang  forward  and  looked  up  toward  the 
opening.  There  I  saw,  standing  between  us  and 
the  sky,  silent  as  a  statue,  with  eyes  glaring 
down  at  us — the  wild  man  of  the  forest. 

There  was  no  mistaking  it;  but  this  time  it 
looked  less  like  an  ape  and  more  like  a  human 
being. 

Without  looking  around  I  beckoned  to  Mr. 
Harborough.  He  stepped  to  my  side,  and  catch- 
ing sight   of   the  horrible  thing  above  us,  he 


246  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

raised  his  rifle  and  fired.  The  report  roared 
around  the  chamber  and  the  stairway  was  filled 
with  smoke.  Simultaneously  a  heavy  body 
rolled  down  the  slippery  stairs  and  lay  out- 
stretched at  our  feet.  It  was  the  wild  man — 
lifeless;  its  limbs  out-stretched  and  its  wide-open 
eyes  staring  up  at  us. 

Never  again  do  I  wish  to  look  upon  such  a 
horrible  object.  We  shrank  back  in  the  door- 
way, feeling  weak  and  faint;  Marjorie  clung  to 
her  father,  her  eyes  gleaming  with  terror,  a  look 
of  horror  upon  her  face. 

After  we  had  recovered  our  courage  and  the 
first  shock  had  partly  passed  away,  we  ap- 
proached closely  and  examined  the  strange 
being.  It  was  human  in  every  detail,  the  hair, 
arms,  legs,  feet,  eyes  and  face.  It  had  once 
been  a  man,  but  what  a  marvelous  transforma- 
tion had  taken  place !  The  body  was  entirely 
covered  with  short  brownish  hair  which  grew 


liWith  eyes  glaring  down  at  ws." 


Page  245. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  247 

several  inches  long  on  the  breast.  The  hair  of 
the  head  was  dark  brown  in  color,  long,  tangled 
and  matted.  The  nose  and  mouth  were  regular, 
and  the  teeth  were  in  fair  condition.  The  eyes 
were  either  blue  or  gray,  we  could  not  tell 
exactly  which.  The  finger-nails  were  long, 
which  made  the  hands  look  like  claws. 

The  skin  was  tanned  by  exposure  to  sun  and 
rain  until  it  was  a  dark  bronze  hue.  We  pon- 
dered long  concerning  the  history  of  this  strange 
being;  for  a  human  being  it  surely  was;  once 
like  ourselves. 

In  death  it  was  less  repugnant  than  in  life. 
Now  that  we  had  become  accustomed  to  look  at 
it,  it  impressed  us  only  as  a  poor  dead  outcast, 
of  whom  we  knew  nothing. 

There  could  be  but  one  solution  to  the  mys- 
tery. Either  the  wretched  person  had  been 
marooned,  or,  like  ourselves  had  been  cast  away 
on  the  island,  and,  driven  mad  by  solitude,  ex- 


248  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

posure  and  the  contemplation  of  his  position 
had  probably  for  several  years  roamed  the  for- 
est as  a  wild  man — a  wild  beast  in  every  sense, 
except  his  origin.  We  moved  the  body  to  a 
corner  of  the  chamber,  composed  the  limbs  and 
went  out  into  the  sunlight. 

The  long  lever  remained  under  the  stone 
which  had  covered  the  opening,  and  we  worked 
it  back  into  place — closing  the  treasure  cham- 
ber, now  a  tomb.  We  covered  the  stone  thickly 
with  earth  and  turned  toward  the  forest. 

Without  further  incident  we  reached  the 
house  at  the  cove  and  proceeded  to  put  every- 
thing in  order  in  anticipation  of  the  coming 
rainy  season  which,  we  promised  ourselves^ 
should  be  a  busy  one  with  us,  between  boat- 
building and  general  occupations;  and  we  viewed 
the  future  not  without  pleasant  anticipations. 
We  were  comfortable,  with  every  want  supplied, 
a  happy  family  sharing  a  common  lot. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  249 

Never  was  there  a  complaint  made  by  any  of 
us.  We  indulged  in  conversation  about  home, 
our  individual  lives,  and  discussed  matters  of 
present  and  future  moment 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Boat  Building  ;  a  Startling  Sound. 

Our  first  work  of  magnitude  was  the  con- 
struction of  a  great  shed  in  which  to  build  the 
boat,  sheltered  from  the  weather.  This  occu- 
pied us  many  days;  for  it  was  of  considerable 
size,  twenty-five  feet  long  and  about  two  thirds 
as  wide.  The  method  of  construction  was  ex- 
actly the  same  as  in  the  other  structures  and 
need  not  be  described  again.  It  was  closed  all 
around  except  the  end  next  to  the  beach. 
This  was  left  open  to  afford  both  air  and  light. 

House-building  was  varied  by  several  trips  to 
the  stranded  vessel  which  remained  on  the  reef 

250 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  251 

precisely  as  we  had  left  it.  Our  raft,  too,  was 
in  a  perfect  state  of  repair. 

Many  of  the  deck  planks  we  removed,  as  well 
as  all  the  boarding  of  the  deck-house  and  the 
sheathing  in  the  cabin.  We  were  careful  to 
save  every  nail,  and  we  found  a  further  supply 
in  the  fore-castle.  These,  though  common 
"cut"  nails,  could  readily  be  transformed  into 
"clinch"  nails  by  heating,  in  which  form  they 
would  be  available  for  fastening  the  boat  to- 
gether. 

The  heavy  deck  planking  we  proposed  to  use 
for  the  keel  and  frame  of  the  craft,  as  well  as 
for  oars  and  thole-pins.  All  the  lumber  and 
such  small  rope  as  we  believed  would  be  of  use 
to  us,  also  quantities  of  sail-cloth,  were  trans- 
ported to  the  shore  and  piled  inside  the  shed. 

These  duties  were  varied  by  occasional  trips 
to  the  forest  to  hunt  wild  pigeons,  fishing  in  the 
stream  or  jaunts  to  the  pool  for  fruit.     These 


252  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

were  holidays  to  us,  during  which  work  was 
forgotten  and  we  all  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
the  occasion. 

Day  by  day  the  clouds  of  the  morning  lingered 
longer  and  longer  and  were  less  quickly  dis- 
pelled by  the  sun's  rays.  They  became  more 
sombre  as  the  days  went  by,  and  sunset  was 
preceded  by  fitful  gusts  of  wind,  indicating  that 
the  rainy  season  was  coming  on  apace.  So  we 
abandoned  further  work  on  the  boat  and  began 
to  lay  in  a  supply  of  cocoanuts  and  yams. 

While  returning  from  the  pool  one  day,  as  we 
passed  the  bamboo  thicket  an  idea  occurred  to 
me  which  I  lost  no  time  in  communicating  to 
Mr.  Harborough. 

It  was  this;  to  fasten  bamboos,  of  good  size, 
around  our  boat,  outside,  immediately  below  the 
gunwales,  reaching  from  stem  to  stern.  This 
would  render  it  more  buoyant,  for  the  bamboo, 
consisting  as  it  does  of  hollow  joints,  would  have 


A  YANKEE   CRUSOE.  253 

the  same  effect  as  air  bags,  or  water-tight  com- 
partments. Such  a  device  would,  I  believed, 
make  it  impossible  to  capsize  the  boat,  thus 
making  it  doubly  seaworthy  and  rendering  our 
escape  from  exile  more  certain. 

"It  is  a  capital  idea"  exclaimed  Mr.  Har- 
borough.  "And  while  we  are  about  it,"  I  con- 
tinued, "we  may  as  well  select  a  bamboo  for  a 
mast." 

My  companions  fully  approved  of  my  ideas 
and  we  at  once  set  to  work  to  cut  the  bamboos 
and  carry  them  to  the  boatrhouse. 

This  work  occupied  us  a  good  many  days,  for 
it  was  slow  and  laborious,  even  with  the  aid  of 
the  axe;  for  the  outer  part  of  the  bamboo  is 
extremely  hard. 

We  now  proceeded  to  strengthen  the  outer 
part  of  the  wall  of  the  house,  and  to  renew  the 
thatch  of  the  roofs,  all  of  which  required  several 
days  of  labor,  cutting  the  grass  and  fastening 
it  into  place. 


254  A  YANKEE  CRUSOE. 

A  large  supply  of  wood  was  gathered  and 
stored  in  the  farther  end  of  the  boatrshed ;  in 
short  we  made  every  preparation  for  a  comfort- 
able rainy  season,  protected  from  the  wind  and 
the  rain.  Hurricanes  could  not  be  guarded 
against,  so  we  only  hoped  that  they  would  give 
us  a  wide  berth. 

The  first  showers  had  set  in  ere  we  resumed 
work  on  the  boat.  From  one  of  the  best  planks 
we  fashioned  the  keel,  which  was  laid  with  some 
ceremony,  Marjorie  constituting  the  audience; 
after  which  we  set  about  getting  out  the  stern- 
post  and  the  frame-pieces.  While  we  were  thus 
occupied  Marjorie  performed  the  house-hold 
duties,  and,  at  odd  times,  busied  herself  heating 
the  nails  white-hot,  and  dropping  them  into 
water,  which  process  transformed  them  into 
"clinch"  nails. 

She  also  made  several  bags  from  sail-cloth 
strongly  sewed,  for  the  reception  of  the  gold. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  255 

The  bags  were  filled  with  the  coins,  securely 
sewed  up  and  stored  away  in  Marjorie's  trunk, 
nearly  filling  it.  We  decided  that  this  would 
be  the  safest  way  to  dispose  of  it  for  the  present. 

Work  on  the  boat  went  on  apace,  each  day 
being  much  like  its  predecessor.  The  daily 
showers  became  more  frequent  and  copious  and 
we  saw  the  sun  less  often. 

At  times  we  felt  depressed  and  our  isolation 
grew  irksome. 

One  morning,  having  had  breakfast,  we  started 
for  the  boairhouse,  when  we  were  brought  to  a 
sudden  stand-still. 

A  long-drawn  sound  like  a  trumpet  blown  at 
a  distance  echoed  and  reverberated  through  the 
trees.  It  continued  several  seconds,  during 
which  we  remained  in  a  listening  attitude. 

Neither  of  us  spoke.  flinmfl  IlRfMr 

It  was  repeated  again;  what  could  it  mean? 
what  could  it  be? 


256  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Surely  it  could  not  come  from  any  wild  ani- 
mal for  we  had  seen  none  larger  than  a  pig. 

Had  we  been  believers  in  the  existence  of 
demons,  we  must  have  at  once  decided  that  a 
demon  lurked  in  the  forest  behind  us. 


CHAPTER   XXm. 

Rescue  at  Hand  ;  Leaving  the  Island, 

Mabjorie  had  heard  the  sound,  also,  and  came 
toward  us. 

Suddenly  she  pointed  out  toward  the  sea, 
uttering  the  exclamation,  "look." 

We  both  turned  and  looked  in  the  direction 
indicated. 

A  boat  was  rounding  the  point;  a  real  boat. 

There  were  men  in  it,  four  men.  The  boat 
shot  around  the  point  and  began  skirting  the 
shore  toward  us. 

We  saw  that  they  were  black  men,  dressed  in 
rough  but  civilized  garments. 

They  were  conversing  among  themselves, 
speaking  in  a  tongue  which  we  did  not  under- 
stand. 

257 


258  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

Were  they  friends  or  foes?  Stepping  quickly 
into  the  house  we  took  our  guns  and  waited 
behind  the  stockade,  standing  so  we  could  watch 
the  boat.  It  had  the  appearance  of  a  canoe, 
made  of  wood.  Evidently  the  black  men  had 
seen  our  house  as  the  canoe  was  turned  toward 
the  shore. 

She  grounded  in  a  few  seconds,  and  the  men 
sprang  ashore.  They  cautiously  approached 
the  boat-shed  peered  into  it,  and  then  came 
slowly  toward  the  house.  Beckoning  Marjorie 
to  remain  out  of  sight  we  grasped  our  guns  and 
stepped  boldly  out,  resolved  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency unhesitatingly,  whatever  it  might  be. 

To  our  surprise  the  black  men  stopped  with  a 
shout  of  joy 

One  a  tall,  fine  looking  negro,  stepped  toward 
us  and  extended  his  hand  to  us. 

"Fo'  de  Lard,  Marsa;  Who  is  yo',  how  long 
yo'  ben  heah?" 


Fo'  de  Lord,  Marsa!" 


Page  259. 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  259 

I  told  him  that  I  had  been  here  many  months, 
and  that  my  two  companions,  pointing  to  Mr. 
Harborough  and  to  Marjorie,  who  now  came 
forward,  had  been  here  half  as  long. 

Then  he  told  us  a  strange  story,  one  which 
gave  us  great  joy. 

He  said  that  they  were  coming  from  their 
island  to  this  one  to  hunt  turtles,  at  the  great 
breeding  place  which  I  had  discovered  on  my 
first  march  to  the  mountain,  and  that,  while 
nearing  the  east  coast  of  our  island  a  steamer 
came  along,  slowed  down  and  then  stopped. 

Men  on  the  steamer  seemed  to  be  looking  at 
the  island  with  glasses,  and  then  the  whistle  of 
the  steamer  was  blown.  This  was  in  the  late 
evening  before.  Presently  the  steamer  started 
and  when  it  came  up  with  the  canoe  the  "cap'n" 
asked  them  if  there  were  any  people  living  on 
the  island. 

The  black  men  answered  in  the   negative, 


260  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

adding  that  none  of  the  turtle  hunters  dared  go 
far  from  shore,  for  a  terrible  savage  monster 
half  man  and  half  demon,  lurked  in  the  forest. 
The  "cap'n"  told  them  he  had  seen  a  beacon  on 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  that  he  believed 
some  one  was  signalling  for  assistance.  So  he 
bargained  with  them  to  follow  close  along  the 
shore,  searching  carefully  in  every  cove,  while 
the  steamer  followed  slowly. 

The  steamer  anchored  during  the  night  and 
the  black  men  were  taken  on  board. 

At.  daylight  that  morning  the  black  men  con- 
tinued along  the  shore  in  the  canoe,  the  steamer 
following.  As  the  canoe  came  in  sight  of  the 
cove  they  saw  the  wreck  and  signalled  back  to 
the  steamer,  which  had  answered  by  a  blast  on 
her  whistle. 

It  was  the  sound  of  the  steamer's  whistle 
which  we  heard  just  before  the  boat  appeared. 
In  a  few  minutes  a  large  steamer  came  in  sight 


A  YANKEE    CRUSOE.  261 

from  behind  the  point  and  anchored  off  the 
cove.  A  boat  was  immediately  lowered  and 
rowed  swiftly  ashore.  A  man  in  uniform  sprang 
ashore  and  came  hurriedly  to  us,  extending  both 
his  hands  which  we  eagerly  grasped. 

He  was  the  second  officer  of  the  Royal  Mail 
steamship  Dunmore  Castle,  from  England  for 
West  Indian  and  Colombian  ports.  When  off 
the  east  side  of  the  island  somewhat  out  of  her 
course  by  reason  of  a  heavy  squall  into  which 
she  had  run  a  few  hours  before  sighting  the 
island,  the  first  officer  had  seen  my  beacon  and 
called  the  Captain's  attention  to  it.  The  rest 
had  been  related  by  the  black  men. 

My  story  is  nearly  told.  We  were  transported 
on  board  the  steamer,  with  such  of  our  belong- 
ing as  we  wished  to  take  with  us.  The  great 
weight  of  Marjorie's  trunk  called  forth  some 
remarks  from  the  men  who  handled  it,  but  we 
made  some  casual  allusion  to  rare  sea-shells  and 


262  A  YANKEE    CRUSOE. 

other  curios  and  felt  relieved  when  the  trunk 
was  on  board. 

The  Dunmore  Castle  proceeded  to  make  her 
ports  of  call,  during  which  we  had  to  give  a 
detailed  account  of  our  life  and  strange  adven- 
tures on  the  island,  to  the  wondering  passengers. 

We  were  landed  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  from 
whence  we  proceeded  by  stage  over-land  to  Port 
Antonio  on  the  north-east  coast,  where  we  em- 
barked on  the  steamship  Sama,  for  Boston,  with 
fruit. 

I  have  nothing  more  of  interest  to  relate, 
unless  the  reader  may  like  to  know  that  I  see 
Marjorie  every  day  still,  and  that  her  father 
visits  us  at  least  once  each  year,  when  we  talk 
over  and  over  again,  the  incidents  that  I  have, 
in  my  humble  way,  tried  to  relate. 

FINIS. 


